Sample records for preparedness electronic resource

..., improve, treat, cure, or restore the physical or mental health conditions of the population. (j... of national emergency, specifically evaluating the availability of the most critical resource and... States, to take actions necessary to ensure the availability of adequate resources and...

This guide offers best practices for disaster management at child welfare agencies. Its recommendations are firmly rooted in published disaster-related research and the advice of human service and preparedness experts. It is not a reinvention of disaster management--much quality work has been done in this field--but a synthesis of experts'…

Emergency preparedness is a fast developing field of education driven by the numerous disasters worldwide with more recent notable examples including the terrorist attacks of 9/11 in the US in 2001, the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the London bombings in 2005, the earthquake in China in 2008, the Great East Japan…

A research study explored the human resource implications of the emerging economic globalism, including the following questions: How is globalism understood by corporations and colleges in the United States? What are the perceived human resource implications of globalism? and What are corporations and colleges doing today to meet these human…

Full Text Available Computer applications which deal with electronicresource management (ERM are quite a recent development. They have grown out of the need to manage the burgeoning number of electronicresources particularly electronic journals. Typically, in the early years of e-journal acquisition, library staff provided an easy means of accessing these journals by providing an alphabetical list on a web page. Some went as far as categorising the e-journals by subject and then grouping the journals either on a single web page or by using multiple pages. It didn't take long before it was recognised that it would be more efficient to dynamically generate the pages from a database rather than to continually edit the pages manually. Of course, once the descriptive metadata for an electronic journal was held within a database the next logical step was to provide administrative forms whereby that metadata could be manipulated. This in turn led to demands for incorporating more information and more functionality into the developing application.

We have now reached a tipping point at which electronicresources comprise more than half of academic library budgets. Because of the increasing work associated with the ever-increasing number of e-resources, there is a trend to distribute work throughout the library even in the presence of an electronicresources department. In 2013, the author…

We have now reached a tipping point at which electronicresources comprise more than half of academic library budgets. Because of the increasing work associated with the ever-increasing number of e-resources, there is a trend to distribute work throughout the library even in the presence of an electronicresources department. In 2013, the author…

This study seeks to attain a better understanding of the information that is required by governments to prepare for earthquakes, and of the constraints they face in obtaining this information. The contributions of the study are two-fold. A survey that was conducted among those responsible for earthquake preparedness actions in different governmental agencies and at different levels revealed on the one hand a desire for information on a broad range of topics, but on the other hand that no resources were allocated in practice to gather this information. A Geographic Information System-based process that was developed following the survey, allowed the required information on seismic hazards and loss and damage risks to be rapidly collected, mapped and integrated. This supported the identification of high-priority areas, for which a more detailed analysis could be initiated. An implementation of the process showed promise, and confirmed its feasibility. Its relative simplicity may ensure that an earthquake preparedness process is initiated by governments that are otherwise reluctant to allocate resources for this purpose.

This study seeks to attain a better understanding of the information that is required by governments to prepare for earthquakes, and of the constraints they face in obtaining this information. The contributions of the study are two-fold. A survey that was conducted among those responsible for earthquake preparedness actions in different governmental agencies and at different levels revealed on the one hand a desire for information on a broad range of topics, but on the other hand that no resources were allocated in practice to gather this information. A Geographic Information System-based process that was developed following the survey, allowed the required information on seismic hazards and loss and damage risks to be rapidly collected, mapped and integrated. This supported the identification of high-priority areas, for which a more detailed analysis could be initiated. An implementation of the process showed promise, and confirmed its feasibility. Its relative simplicity may ensure that an earthquake preparedness process is initiated by governments that are otherwise reluctant to allocate resources for this purpose.

Full Text Available A rapid situation analysis was conducted in Kibaha and Ngorongoro districts in Tanzania to map resources as well as analysing emergency preparedness to infectious diseases in animal (domestic and wild and human populations. Kibaha was chosen as a district close to a commercial city (Dar es Salaam while Ngorongoro represented a remote, border district with high interactions between humans, domestic and wild animals. In this study, data on resources and personnel as well as emergency preparedness were collected from all wards (n = 22, human health facilities (n = 40 and livestock facilities in the two districts using interview checklists and questionnaires. Descriptive statistics for resources were calculated and mapped by district. Kibaha district had a higher human population density, more health workers, better equipped health facilities and better communication and transport systems. On the other hand, Ngorongoro had a higher population of livestock and more animal health facilities but a poorer ratio of animal health workers to livestock. The average ratio of health personnel to population in catchment areas of the health facilities was 1:147 (range of 1:17−1:1200. The ratio of personnel to human population was significantly higher in Kibaha (1:95 than in Ngorongoro (1:203 district (p = 0 < 0.001. Considering the limited resources available to both human and animal health sectors and their different strengths and weaknesses there are opportunities for greater collaboration and resource-sharing between human and animal health for improved surveillance and emergency-preparedness.

The internationally collaborative volcanic ash website (http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/ash/) has been an important global information resource for ashfall preparedness and impact guidance since 2004. Recent volcanic ashfalls with significant local, regional, and global impacts highlighted the need to improve the website to make it more accessible and pertinent to users worldwide. Recently, the Volcanic Ash Impacts Working Group (Cities and Volcanoes Commission of IAVCEI) redesigned and modernized the website. Improvements include 1) a database-driven back end, 2) reorganized menu navigation, 3) language translation, 4) increased downloadable content, 5) addition of ash-impact case studies, 7) expanded and updated references , 8) an image database, and 9) inclusion of cooperating organization's logos. The database-driven platform makes the website more dynamic and efficient to operate and update. New menus provide information about specific impact topics (buildings, transportation, power, health, agriculture, water and waste water, equipment and communications, clean up) and updated content has been added throughout all topics. A new "for scientists" menu includes information on ash collection and analysis. Website translation using Google translate will significantly increase user base. Printable resources (e.g. checklists, pamphlets, posters) provide information to people without Internet access. Ash impact studies are used to improve mitigation measures during future eruptions, and links to case studies will assist communities' preparation and response plans. The Case Studies menu is intended to be a living topic area, growing as new case studies are published. A database of all images from the website allows users to access larger resolution images and additional descriptive details. Logos clarify linkages among key contributors and assure users that the site is authoritative and science-based.

Worldwide there is a growing need for citizens to prepare for environmental risks to mitigate potential adversity. In order to predict preparedness, behavioral models typically used variables at an individual level of analysis, such as risk perception and assessment of the effectiveness of possible

Observed and projected impacts of climate change are pronounced on the hydrologic cycle because of the sensitivity of hydroclimatic variables to changes in temperature. Well-documented climate change impacts to the hydrologic cycle include increases in extreme heat conditions, coastal flooding, heavy precipitation, and drought frequency and magnitude, all of which can combine in surprising ways to pose regionally varying threats to public health and safety, ecosystem functions, and the economy. Climate preparedness and resilience activities are therefore necessary for water infrastructure which provides flood risk reduction, navigation, water supply, ecosystem restoration, and hydropower services. Because this water infrastructure entails long lifetimes, up to or beyond 100 years, and significant public investment, accurate and timely information about climate impacts over both the near-and far-term is required to plan and implement climate preparedness and resilience measures. Engineers are natural translators of science into actionable information to support this type of decision-making, because they understand both the important physical processes and the processes, laws, standards, and criteria required for the planning and design of public infrastructure. Though engineers are capable of the data management activities needed to ingest, transform, and prepare climate information for use in these decisions, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has chosen to emphasize analysis of information over data management. In doing so, the USACE is developing and using web tools with visualization capabilities to streamline climate preparedness and resilience planning and implementation while ensuring repeatable analytical results nationally. Examples discussed here include calculation of sea level change, including a comparison of mean sea level and other tidal statistics against scenarios of change; detection of abrupt and slowly varying nonstationarities in observed

Informative, useful, current, Managing ElectronicResources: A LITA Guide shows how to successfully manage time, resources, and relationships with vendors and staff to ensure personal, professional, and institutional success.

This presentation describes the electronicresources management project undertaken by the KAUST library. The objectives of this project is to migrate information from MS Sharepoint to Millennium ERM module. One of the advantages of this migration is to consolidate all electronicresources into a single and centralized location. This would allow for better information sharing among library staff.

A 2010 electronicresource management survey conducted by Maria Collins of North Carolina State University and Jill E. Grogg of University of Alabama Libraries found that the top six electronicresources management priorities included workflow management, communications management, license management, statistics management, administrative…

A 2010 electronicresource management survey conducted by Maria Collins of North Carolina State University and Jill E. Grogg of University of Alabama Libraries found that the top six electronicresources management priorities included workflow management, communications management, license management, statistics management, administrative…

This Resource Letter examines the evolution, roles, and content of courses in electronics in the undergraduate physics curriculum, and provides a guide to resources for faculty teaching such courses. It concludes with a brief section addressing problems of electromagnetic interference in electronic systems, and provides an introduction to the literature and practice of electromagnetic compatibility. I have included textbooks, reference books, articles, collections of laboratory experiments and projects, sources of equipment and parts, software packages, videos, and websites.

This recommendation report provides an overview of the selection process for the new ElectronicResources Management System. The library has decided to move away from Innovative Interfaces Millennium ERM module. The library reviewed 3 system as potential replacements namely: Proquest 360 Resource Manager, Ex Libris Alma and Open Source CORAL ERMS. After comparing and trialling the systems, it was decided to go for Proquest 360 Resource Manager.

The trends of RPC work in the area of preparedness for nuclear and radiological accidents are listed. RPC in cooperation with Swedish Government developed the project on preparation for iodine prophylaxis in case of accident at Ignalina NPP and arranged seminar on emergency preparedness issues in 2001.

We have reviewed various strategies involved in containment of measles in healthcare facilities during community outbreaks. The strategies that are more applicable to resource-poor settings, such as natural ventilation, mechanical ventilation with heating and air-conditioning systems allowing unidirectional air-flow, and protection of un-infected patients and healthcare workers (HCWs), have been examined. Ventilation methods need innovative customization for resource-poor settings followed by validation and post-implementation analysis for impact. Mandatory vaccination of all HCWs with two doses of measles-containing vaccine, appropriate post-exposure prophylaxis of immunocompromised inpatients, and stringent admission criteria for measles cases can contribute toward reduction of nosocomial and secondary transmission within facilities. PMID:25882388

We have reviewed various strategies involved in containment of measles in healthcare facilities during community outbreaks. The strategies that are more applicable to resource-poor settings, such as natural ventilation, mechanical ventilation with heating and air-conditioning systems allowing unidirectional air-flow, and protection of un-infected patients and healthcare workers (HCWs), have been examined. Ventilation methods need innovative customization for resource-poor settings followed by validation and post-implementation analysis for impact. Mandatory vaccination of all HCWs with two doses of measles-containing vaccine, appropriate post-exposure prophylaxis of immunocompromised inpatients, and stringent admission criteria for measles cases can contribute toward reduction of nosocomial and secondary transmission within facilities.

Purpose: Increasing the usage of electronicresources is an issue of concern for many libraries all over the world. Several studies stress the importance of information literacy and instruction in order to increase the usage. Design/methodology/approach: The present article presents the results...

The third ElectronicResources & Libraries (ER&L) conference gathered at Georgia Institute of Technology's Global Learning and Conference Center in Atlanta, Georgia, March 18-21, 2008. Over 360 attendees, from six countries and from 80% of the United States, represented their libraries and organizations resulting in a diverse and…

In uncertain times, a solid preparedness plan is essential for every individual and family. PREPAREDNESS NOW! navigates the new realities of twenty-first century living: extreme weather, economic instability, terror attacks, and more. Packed with checklists, resources, and step-by-step instructions, PREPAREDNESS NOW! details everything needed for office, car, and home preparedness. This newly expanded and revised edition includes an extended chapter on food and water storage and urban gardening, techniques in personal defense, and the latest and best preparedness products on the market. This b

On September 19th 2008, a technical fault was at the centre of a sequence of events which hampered the performance of certain equipments of the LHC 3-4 sector. Once the first effects of this sequence of events were detected, the behaviour of the CERN staff confronted to this complex and critical situation became the centre of the risk control process. During such a downward spiral the preparation of all stakeholders is essential and should respect the (apparently) basic principles of emergency preparedness. Preparedness towards normal operation of CERN facilities towards minor up to major emergency situations will be presented. The main technical, organisational and legal frameworks of the CERN emergency preparedness will be recalled, highlighting the CERN risk management and risk control strategy. Then, the sequence of events experienced by different stakeholders on September 19th will be reported, thus starting the learned lessons process.

Changes in the practice of medicine and technological developments offer librarians unprecedented opportunities to select and organize electronicresources, use the Web to deliver content throughout the organization, and improve knowledge at the point of need. The confusing array of available products, access routes, and pricing plans makes it difficult to anticipate the needs of users, identify the top resources, budget effectively, make sound collection management decisions, and organize the resources effectively and seamlessly. The electronicresource marketplace requires much vigilance, considerable patience, and continuous evaluation. There are several strategies that librarians can employ to stay ahead of the electronicresource curve, including taking advantage of free trials from publishers; marketing free trials and involving users in evaluating new products; watching and testing products marketed to the clientele; agreeing to beta test new products and services; working with aggregators or republishers; joining vendor advisory boards; benchmarking institutional resources against five to eight competitors; and forming or joining a consortium for group negotiating and purchasing. This article provides a brief snapshot of leading biomedical resources; showcases several libraries that have excelled in identifying, acquiring, and organizing electronicresources; and discusses strategies and trends of potential interest to biomedical librarians, especially those working in hospital settings.

... Translate Text Size Print Emergency Preparedness Emergencies and HIV/AIDS Emergencies can take many forms. They include ... planning efforts. Emergency Resources for People Living with HIV The Federal Government offers several resources and programs ...

To get to the bottom of a successful approach to ElectronicResource Management (ERM), Anderson interviewed staff at 11 institutions about their ERM implementations. Among her conclusions, presented in this issue of Library Technology Reports, is that grasping the intricacies of your workflow-analyzing each step to reveal the gaps and problems-at the beginning is crucial to selecting and implementing an ERM. Whether the system will be used to fill a gap, aggregate critical data, or replace a tedious manual process, the best solution for your library depends on factors such as your current soft

It is important to collect and analyze the usage data of electronic databases and periodicals in order to make policies regarding the composition, improvement and more extensive utilization of electronicresources of libraries. The aim of this study is to investigate how efficiently the full text accessible electronicresources of Hacettepe University Libraries are used. For this purpose the usage data obtained from COUNTER Software regarding the electronic databases to which Hacettepe Univer...

With the advents of internet, the importance of electronicresources is growing. Due to the increasing expensiveness of electronicresources, university libraries normally received budgets from parent institutions annually. They necessarily applied effective and systematic methods for decision making in electronicresources purchase or re-subscription. However, there are some difficulties in practices: First of all, libraries are unable to receive user records; second, the COUNTER statistics ...

With the ongoing shift to electronic formats for library resources, acquisitions librarians, like the rest of the profession, must adapt to the rapidly changing landscape of electronicresources by keeping up with trends and mastering new skills related to digital publishing, technology, and licensing. The author sought to know what roles…

The seminary contains several presentations on various aspects of preparedness in the offshore petroleum sector. The authority organization, Norwegian regulations, industrial management, planning and principles are discussed. Risk assessment and preparedness analysis is emphasized. Some technological aspects are also discussed.

There is little research on pediatric hospitalists' use of evidence-based resources. The aim of this study was to determine the electronicresources that pediatric hospitalists prefer. Using a web-based survey, the authors determined hospitalists' preferred electronicresources, as well as their attitudes toward lifelong learning, practice, and experience characteristics. One hundred sixteen hospitalists completed the survey. The most preferred resource for general information, patient handouts, and treatment was UpToDate. Online search engines were ranked second for general information and patient handouts. Pediatric hospitalists tend to utilize less rigorous electronicresources such as UpToDate and Google. These results can set a platform for discussing the quality of resources that pediatric hospitalists use.

digital library, but it facilitates the exchange of these objects among digital libraries . METS provides an XML DTD that can point to metadata in other...International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). (2002). Digital Libraries : Metadata Resources. Retrieved May 3, 2002 from the

The European Libraries and ElectronicResources (EULER) Project in Mathematical Sciences provides the EulerService site for searching out "mathematical resources such as books, pre-prints, web-pages, abstracts, proceedings, serials, technical reports preprints) and NetLab (for Internet resources), this outstanding engine is capable of simple, full, and refined searches. It also offers a browse option, which responds to entries in the author, keyword, and title fields. Further information about the Project is provided at the EULER homepage.

This practical book guides information professionals step-by-step through building and managing an electronicresource collection. It outlines the range of electronic products currently available in abstracting and indexing, bibliographic, and other services and then describes how to effectively select, evaluate and purchase them.

Full Text Available A complete overview of library activity implies a complete and reliable measurement of the use of both electronicresources and printed materials. This measurement is based on three sets of definitions: document types, use types and user types. There is a common model of definitions for printed materials, but a lot of questions and technical issues remain for electronicresources. In 2006 a French national working group studied these questions. It relied on the COUNTER standard, but found it insufficient and pointed out the need for local tools such as web markers and deep analysis of proxy logs. Within the French national consortium COUPERIN, a new working group is testing ERMS, SUSHI standards, Shibboleth authentication, along with COUNTER standards, to improve the counting of the electronicresources use. At this stage this counting is insufficient and its improvement will be a European challenge for the future.

Full Text Available Research into access to electronicresources by visually impaired people undertaken by the Centre for Research in Library and Information Management has not only explored the accessibility of websites and levels of awareness in providing websites that adhere to design for all principles, but has sought to enhance understanding of information seeking behaviour of blind and visually impaired people when using digital resources.

Full Text Available With the advents of internet, the importance of electronicresources is growing. Due to the increasing expensiveness of electronicresources, university libraries normally received budgets from parent institutions annually. They necessarily applied effective and systematic methods for decision making in electronicresources purchase or re-subscription. However, there are some difficulties in practices: First of all, libraries are unable to receive user records; second, the COUNTER statistics does not include details about users and their affiliation. As a result, one cannot conduct advanced user analysis based on the usage of users, institutions, and departments. To overcome the difficulties, this study presents a feasible model to analyze electronicresource usage effectively and flexibly. We set up a proxy server to collect actual usage raw data. By analyzing items in internet browsing records, associated with original library automatic system, this study aims at exploring how to use effective ways to analyze big data of website log data. We also propose the process of how original data to be transformed, cleared, integrated, and demonstrated. This study adopted a medical university library and its subscription of medical electronicresources as a case. Our data analysis includes (1 year of subscription,(2 title of journal, (3 affiliation, (4 subjects, and (5 specific journal requirements, etc. The findings of the study are contributed to obtain further understanding in policy making and user behavior analysis. The integrated data provides multiple applications in informatics research, information behavior, bibliomining, presenting diverse views and extended issues for further discussion.

From full-text article databases to digitized collections of primary source materials, newly emerging electronicresources have radically impacted how research in the humanities is conducted and discovered. This book, covering high-quality, up-to-date electronicresources for the humanities, is an easy-to-use annotated guide for the librarian, student, and scholar alike. It covers online databases, indexes, archives, and many other critical tools in key humanities disciplines including philosophy, religion, languages and literature, and performing and visual arts. Succinct overviews of key eme

Full Text Available This study elaborated relations between digital library use by university faculty, users' discipline and the availability of key resources in the Finnish National Electronic Library (FinELib, Finnish national digital library, by using nationwide representative survey data. The results show that the perceived availability of key electronicresources by researchers in FinELib was a stronger predictor of the frequency and purpose of use of its services than users' discipline. Regardless of discipline a good perceived provision of central resources led to a more frequent use of FinELib. The satisfaction with the services did not vary with the discipline, but with the perceived availability of resources.

This article aims to provide a baseline for future studies on the provision and support for the use of digital or electronic information services (EIS) in further education. The analysis presented is based on a multi-level model of access, which encompasses access to and availability of information and communication technology (ICT) resources,…

Full Text Available The article investigates the current state of development of e-learning content in the Latin language. It is noted that the introduction of ICT in the educational space has expanded the possibility of studying Latin, opened access to digital libraries resources, made it possible to use scientific and educational potential and teaching Latin best practices of world's leading universities. A review of foreign and Ukrainian information resources and electronic editions for the study of Latin is given. Much attention was paid to the didactic potential of local and online multimedia courses of Latin, electronic textbooks, workbooks of interactive tests and exercises, various dictionaries and software translators, databases and digital libraries. Based on analysis of the world market of educational services and products the main trends in the development of information resources and electronic books are examined. It was found that multimedia courses with interactive exercises or workbooks with interactive tests, online dictionaries and translators are the most widely represented and demanded. The noticeable lagging of Ukrainian education and computer linguistics in quantitative and qualitative measures in this industry is established. The obvious drawback of existing Ukrainian resources and electronic editions for the study of Latin is their noninteractive nature. The prospects of e-learning content in Latin in Ukraine are outlined.

This paper reports the results of a survey of student satisfaction with electronic library resources other than the online catalog at Wayne State University. Undertaken in Fall Term 2000 as a class project for a marketing course, a student team designed, administered, and analyzed a survey of a random sample of students. Almost 40% of the…

This article explores whether technical communicator is a useful model for electronicresources (ER) librarians. The fields of ER librarianship and technical communication (TC) originated and continue to develop in relation to evolving technologies. A review of the literature reveals four common themes for ER librarianship and TC. While the…

This article aims to provide a baseline for future studies on the provision and support for the use of digital or electronic information services (EIS) in further education. The analysis presented is based on a multi-level model of access, which encompasses access to and availability of information and communication technology (ICT) resources,…

Current US medical students have begun to rely on electronic information repositories-such as UpToDate, AccessMedicine, and Wikipedia-for their pre-clerkship medical education. However, it is unclear whether these resources are appropriate for this level of learning due to factors involving information quality, level of evidence, and the requisite knowledgebase. This study evaluated appropriateness of electronic information resources from a novel perspective: amount of mental effort learners invest in interactions with these resources and effects of the experienced mental effort on learning. Eighteen first-year medical students read about three unstudied diseases in the above-mentioned resources (a total of fifty-four observations). Their eye movement characteristics (i.e., fixation duration, fixation count, visit duration, and task-evoked pupillary response) were recorded and used as psychophysiological indicators of the experienced mental effort. Post reading, students' learning was assessed with multiple-choice tests. Eye metrics and test results constituted quantitative data analyzed according to the repeated Latin square design. Students' perceptions of interacting with the information resources were also collected. Participants' feedback during semi-structured interviews constituted qualitative data and was reviewed, transcribed, and open coded for emergent themes. Compared to AccessMedicine and Wikipedia, UpToDate was associated with significantly higher values of eye metrics, suggesting learners experienced higher mental effort. No statistically significant difference between the amount of mental effort and learning outcomes was found. More so, descriptive statistical analysis of the knowledge test scores suggested similar levels of learning regardless of the information resource used. Judging by the learning outcomes, all three information resources were found appropriate for learning. UpToDate, however, when used alone, may be less appropriate for first

Full Text Available The mathematical structure of the modular architecture of an electronic educational resource (EER of new generation, which allows to decompose the process of studying the subjects of the course at a hierarchically ordered set of data (knowledge and procedures for manipulating them, to determine the roles of participants of process of training of and technology the development and use of EOR in the study procrate.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The Office of Emergency Management compiles a wide variety of information in support of Emergency Preparedness, including certain elements of the System for Risk...

Full Text Available Jay M Margolis,1 Elizabeth T Masters,2 Joseph C Cappelleri,3 David M Smith,1 Steven Faulkner4 1Truven Health Analytics, Life Sciences, Outcomes Research, Bethesda, MD, 2Pfizer Inc, Outcomes & Evidence, New York, NY, 3Pfizer Inc, Statistics, Groton, CT, 4Pfizer Inc, North American Medical Affairs, Medical Outcomes Specialists, St Louis, MO, USA Objective: The management of fibromyalgia (FM, a chronic musculoskeletal disease, remains challenging, and patients with FM are often characterized by high health care resource utilization. This study sought to explore potential drivers of all-cause health care resource utilization and other factors associated with high resource use, using a large electronic health records (EHR database to explore data from patients diagnosed with FM. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of de-identified EHR data from the Humedica database. Adults (≥18 years with FM were identified based on ≥2 International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes for FM (729.1 ≥30 days apart between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2012 and were required to have evidence of ≥12 months continuous care pre- and post-index; first FM diagnosis was the index event; 12-month pre- and post-index reporting periods. Multivariable analysis evaluated relationships between variables and resource utilization. Results: Patients were predominantly female (81.4%, Caucasian (87.7%, with a mean (standard deviation age of 54.4 (14.8 years. The highest health care resource utilization was observed for the categories of “medication orders” and “physician office visits,” with 12-month post-index means of 21.2 (21.5 drug orders/patient and 15.1 (18.1 office visits/patient; the latter accounted for 73.3% of all health care visits. Opioids were the most common prescription medication, 44.3% of all patients. The chance of high resource use was significantly increased (P<0.001 26% among African-Americans vs Caucasians and for patients

Full Text Available AbstractConsidering the fact that the number of publications available online only is growing, the question whether to include online electronicresources into the Slovenian bibliography, and if so, in which way, and what are the requirements for the inclusion, is raised. To answer these questions, the research on the growth of the Slovenian online scientific production in comparison with production in printed form was conducted in the case of original scientific articles. Results showed a rapid growth of the number of original scientific articles available online only, which indicates the necessity to form a separate Slovenian bibliography of online resources. The selection criteria for the Slovenian bibliography of online resources are also presented. This kind of bibliography would, along with the informational value, add to the historical value of intellectual production in a given time frame, enriched with a link to the resource preserved in another location (archive, repository, in case of unavailability of the resource on its original location.

Astronomy now has an integrated, Web-based information resource for research papers, data and bibliographic information. The major scholarly research journals, a comprehensive abstract service and the astronomical data centers are now linked together to provide an information resource which is not available to most other scientific disciplines. As of January, 1997, the Astrophysical Journal joins the ApJ Letters on the Web. Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplements now has a page image version. Elsevier's electronic journal New Astronomy has recently made its appearance. Over forty percent of the new peer-reviewed, astronomical literature is now available electronically. The main Astronomy and Astrophysics journal, the Astronomical Journal and others will be available by 1998, at which point ninety percent of the literature will be available electronically, a figure not approached by any other scientific discipline. With so many different sources, one of the challenges has been to integrate the on-line, peer-reviewed literature into a resource which serves the astronomical community in a unified and coherent manner. Following the lead of the AAS, the major publishers have chosen to rely upon the NASA-supported Astrophysics Data System (ADS) and the astronomical data centers to provide the means by which the various separate journals can interoperate. The data centers and the ADS have developed unique identification codes for journal articles. By adopting the existing standard "bibcodes" and integrating them into their WWW links, each of the major astronomical journals are able to link to the abstracts of most of the referenced articles. Since the ADS also serves as an on-line repository for page images of the past twenty years of the major astronomical journals, the full text of many of the referenced articles are available, too. The articles in the ADS have recently been linked through their references, both forward and backward in time. With the "bibcode" providing

This study elaborated relations between digital library use by university faculty, users' discipline and the availability of key resources in the Finnish National Electronic Library (FinELib), Finnish national digital library, by using nationwide representative survey data. The results show that the perceived availability of key electronic…

of emerging electronic product, in order to understand the recovery fate of different materials and its linkage to product design. Ten different brands of RVC were dismantled and their material composition and design profiles were studied. Another 125 RVCs (349 kg) were used for an experimental trial......Integrating product design with appropriate end-of-life (EoL) processing is widely recognized to have huge potentials in improving resource recovery from electronic products. In this study, we investigate both the product characteristics and EoL processing of robotic vacuum cleaner (RVC), as a case...... at a conventional ‘shred-and-separate’ type preprocessing plant in Denmark. A detailed material flow analysis was performed throughout the recycling chain. The results show a mismatch between product design and EoL processing, and the lack of practical implementation of ‘Design for EoL’ thinking. In the best...

The position of electronicresources librarian was created to serve as a specialist in the negotiation of license agreements for electronicresources, but mission creep has added more functions to the routine work of electronicresources such as cataloging, gathering information for collection development, and technical support. As electronic…

Lecturers use various electronicresources at different frequencies. The university library's information literacy skills workshops and seminars are the main sources of knowledge of accessing electronicresources. The use of electronicresources can be said to have positively affected lecturers' pedagogical practices and their work in general. The…

Academic institutions possess tremendous resources that could be important for community disaster response and preparedness activities. In-depth exploration of the role of academic institutions in community disaster response has elicited information about particular academic resources leveraged for and essential to community preparedness and response; factors that contribute to the decision-making process for partner engagement; and facilitators of and barriers to sustainable collaborations from the perspectives of academic institutions, public health and emergency management agencies, and national association and agency leaders. The Academic-Community Partnership Project of the Emory University Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center in collaboration with the Association of Schools of Public Health convened an invitational summit which included leadership from the National Association of County and City Health Officials, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, Directors of Public Health Preparedness, Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, CDC Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, Association of Schools of Public Health, Association of American Medical Colleges, Association of Academic Health Centers, American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, and American Association of Poison Control Centers. From this convention, emerged recommendations for building and sustaining academic-public health-community collaborations for preparedness locally and regionally.

preparedness of health systems (WHO, 2007a; WHO, 2007b; World Health ... risk assessments through the establishment of a vulnerability assessment ... April 2003 (Ministry of Health and Social Services, 2003); The Namibia National Disaster Risk ..... involve the Oshikoto Regional council as well as the local community.

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Hydrogen Safety Program conducted a planning session in Los Angeles, CA on April 1, 2014 to consider what electronic safety tools would benefit the next phase of hydrogen and fuel cell commercialization. A diverse, 20-person team led by an experienced facilitator considered the question as it applied to the eight most relevant user groups. The results and subsequent evaluation activities revealed several possible resource tools that could greatly benefit users. The tool identified as having the greatest potential for impact is a hydrogen safety portal, which can be the central location for integrating and disseminating safety information (including most of the tools identified in this report). Such a tool can provide credible and reliable information from a trustworthy source. Other impactful tools identified include a codes and standards wizard to guide users through a series of questions relating to application and specific features of the requirements; a scenario-based virtual reality training for first responders; peer networking tools to bring users from focused groups together to discuss and collaborate on hydrogen safety issues; and a focused tool for training inspectors. Table ES.1 provides results of the planning session, including proposed new tools and changes to existing tools.

Described herein are devices and techniques for remotely controlling user access to a restricted computer resource. The process includes pre-determining an association of the restricted computer resource and computer-resource-proximal environmental information. Indicia of user-proximal environmental information are received from a user requesting access to the restricted computer resource. Received indicia of user-proximal environmental information are compared to associated computer-resource-proximal environmental information. User access to the restricted computer resource is selectively granted responsive to a favorable comparison in which the user-proximal environmental information is sufficiently similar to the computer-resource proximal environmental information. In at least some embodiments, the process further includes comparing user-supplied biometric measure and comparing it with a predetermined association of at least one biometric measure of an authorized user. Access to the restricted computer resource is granted in response to a favorable comparison.

Electronic sources of medical information are plentiful, and numerous studies have demonstrated the use of the Internet by patients and the variable reliability of these sources. Studies have investigated neither the use of web-based resources by residents, nor the reliability of the information available on these websites. A web-based survey was distributed to surgical residents in Michigan and third- and fourth-year medical students at an American allopathic and osteopathic medical school and a Caribbean allopathic school regarding their preferred sources of medical information in various situations. A set of 254 queries simulating those faced by medical trainees on rounds, on a written examination, or during patient care was developed. The top 5 electronicresources cited by the trainees were evaluated for their ability to answer these questions accurately, using standard textbooks as the point of reference. The respondents reported a wide variety of overall preferred resources. Most of the 73 responding medical trainees favored textbooks or board review books for prolonged studying, but electronicresources are frequently used for quick studying, clinical decision-making questions, and medication queries. The most commonly used electronicresources were UpToDate, Google, Medscape, Wikipedia, and Epocrates. UpToDate and Epocrates had the highest percentage of correct answers (47%) and Wikipedia had the lowest (26%). Epocrates also had the highest percentage of wrong answers (30%), whereas Google had the lowest percentage (18%). All resources had a significant number of questions that they were unable to answer. Though hardcopy books have not been completely replaced by electronicresources, more than half of medical students and nearly half of residents prefer web-based sources of information. For quick questions and studying, both groups prefer Internet sources. However, the most commonly used electronicresources fail to answer clinical queries more than half

Since 2001, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) has built a strong public health preparedness foundation, made possible in large part by funding from the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) Cooperative Agreement provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While this funding has allowed NYC DOHMH to make great progress in areas such as all-hazards planning, risk communication, disease surveillance, and lab capacity, the erosion of federal preparedness dollars for all-hazards preparedness has the potential to reverse these gains. Since the initiation of the PHEP grant in 2002, PHEP funding has steadily declined nationwide. Specifically, the total federal allocation has decreased approximately 20%, from $862,777,000 in 2005 to $688,914,546 in 2009. With city and state budgets at an all-time low, federal funding cuts will have a significant impact on public health preparedness programs nationwide. In this time of strict budgetary constraints, the nation would be better served by strategically awarding federal preparedness funds to areas at greatest risk. The absence of risk-based funding in determining PHEP grant awards leaves the nation's highest-risk areas, like New York City, with insufficient resources to prepare for and respond to public health emergencies. This article examines the progress New York City has made and what is at stake as federal funding continues to wane.

Latent class analysis was used to examine the career preparation of 5,227 11th-grade Korean adolescents taken from the Korean Education Longitudinal Study of 2005 (KELS:2005). Three career preparedness groups were identified, to reflecting Skorikov's ("J Vocat Behav" 70:8-24, 2007) conceptualization of career preparedness: prepared,…

This article is based on quantitative and qualitative research examining humanities scholars' understandings of the advantages and disadvantages of print versus electronic information resources. It explores how humanities' faculty members at Florida State University (FSU) use print and electronicresources, as well as how they perceive these…

This article is based on quantitative and qualitative research examining humanities scholars' understandings of the advantages and disadvantages of print versus electronic information resources. It explores how humanities' faculty members at Florida State University (FSU) use print and electronicresources, as well as how they perceive these…

A significant shift is taking place in libraries, with the purchase of e-resources accounting for the bulk of materials spending. ElectronicResource Management makes the case that technical services workflows need to make a corresponding shift toward e-centric models and highlights the increasing variety of e-formats that are forcing new developments in the field.Six chapters cover key topics, including: technical services models, both past and emerging; staffing and workflow in electronicresource management; implementation and transformation of electronicresource management systems; the ro

Electronicresources, the tools we use to manage them, and the needs and expectations of our users are constantly evolving; at the same time, the roles, responsibilities, and workflow of the library staff who manage e-resources are also in flux. Recognizing a need to be more intentional and proactive about how we manage e-resources, the…

Electronicresources, the tools we use to manage them, and the needs and expectations of our users are constantly evolving; at the same time, the roles, responsibilities, and workflow of the library staff who manage e-resources are also in flux. Recognizing a need to be more intentional and proactive about how we manage e-resources, the…

Electronic communications of human resource professionals and the content of 23 university human resource management courses were categorized using the Human Resource Certification Institute's body of knowledge. Differences between proportion of topics discussed and topics covered in curricula suggest some topics are over- or undertaught.…

intensely powerful and has permeated all segments and ... Web (WWW) and the internet to make information more accessible. On the other ... access points on the campus and computer literacy is till .... resources are often faster to consult than.

Described herein are devices and techniques for remotely controlling user access to a restricted computer resource. The process includes obtaining an image from a communication device of a user. An individual and a landmark are identified within the image. Determinations are made that the individual is the user and that the landmark is a predetermined landmark. Access to a restricted computing resource is granted based on the determining that the individual is the user and that the landmark is the predetermined landmark. Other embodiments are disclosed.

A coke preparedness monitoring device for a door extractor contains sounding electrodes, a stabilized voltage source and a meter to record the electrical resistance of the coke. In order to provide monitoring capacity of the preparedness of the coke in the flow and to increase measuring accuracy the device contains sounding electrodes in the coke-treating door extractor; these are connected together with the recorder via an additional stabilized power supply to a stabilized voltage source.

This article describes issues related to the engagement of hospitals and other community partners in a coordinated regional healthcare preparedness and response effort. The report is based on interviews with public health and hospital representatives from 13 regions or states across the country. It aims to identify key ingredients for building successful regional partnerships for healthcare preparedness as well as critical challenges and policy and practical recommendations for their development and sustainability.

Full Text Available The key challenges in the public sector are to find new ways to operate horizontally between different levels of administration and being prepared sudden changes. The purpose of this paper is merging society in the development of customer-oriented hybrid organization. Methodology is the literature review. Preparedness is a process, which connects logistic society, its public, private and the third sector organizations, and their operations with households and individuals. This paper presents a conceptual model of hybrid management and applies it to the preparedness. The management resulted in preparedness analysis and classification system (PACS, which conduct transformational leadership, hybrid organization, and crowdsourcing to secure the overall value chain. The PACS shed light to local hybridity and crowdsourcing usage in preparedness. Crowdsourcing can be employed to provide resources before the incident, which will speed recovery. Introduced hybrid management is a significant contribution to the logistic society and its preparedness.

The work outlined here provides a comprehensive report and formative observations of the development and implementation of hypermedia resources for learning and teaching used in conjunction with a managed learning environment (MLE). These resources are used to enhance teaching and learning of an electronics module in product design at final year…

This study aimed to improve the current state of electronicresource evaluation in libraries. While the use of Web DB, e-book, e-journal, and other e-resources such as CD-ROM, DVD, and micro materials is increasing in libraries, their use is not comprehensively factored into the general evaluation of libraries and may diminish the reliability of…

Kent State University has developed a centralized system that manages the communication and work related to the review and selection of commercially available electronicresources. It is an automated system that tracks the review process, provides selectors with price and trial information, and compiles reviewers' feedback about the resource. It…

Information to help prepare for an emergency. Includes resources for patients and health care providers to continue cancer care, NCI contacts for grantees, and resources to prepare and update NCI employees and contractors.

This article reports on the design, evaluation framework, and results from the Meta-Leadership Summit for Preparedness Initiative. The Meta-Leadership Summit for Preparedness was a 5-year initiative based on the premise that national preparedness and emergency response is not solely the responsibility of government. From 2006 to 2011, 36 Meta-Leadership Summits were delivered in communities across the country. Summits were customized, 10-hour leadership development, networking, and community action planning events. They included participation from targeted federal, state, local, nonprofit/philanthropic, and private sector leaders who are directly involved in decision making during a major community or state-wide emergency. A total of 4,971 government, nonprofit, and business leaders attended Meta-Leadership Summits; distribution of attendees by sector was balanced. Ninety-three percent of respondents reported the summit was a valuable use of time, 91% reported the overall quality as "good" or "outstanding," and 91% would recommend the summit to their colleagues. In addition, approximately 6 months after attending a summit, 80% of respondents reported that they had used meta-leadership concepts or principles. Of these, 93% reported that using meta-leadership concepts or principles had made a positive difference for them and their organizations. The Meta-Leadership Summit for Preparedness Initiative was a value-added opportunity for communities, providing the venue for learning the concepts and practice of meta-leadership, multisector collaboration, and resource sharing with the intent of substantively improving preparedness, response, and recovery efforts.

Student use of electronic books has become an accepted supplement to traditional resources. Student use and satisfaction was monitored through an online course discussion board. Increased use of electronic books indicate this service is an accepted supplement to the print book collection.

Student use of electronic books has become an accepted supplement to traditional resources. Student use and satisfaction was monitored through an online course discussion board. Increased use of electronic books indicate this service is an accepted supplement to the print book collection.

Nurses are the largest group of healthcare providers and will be at the forefront during a response to a bioterrorism attack in the U.S. However, nurses' bioterrorism risk perceptions and their participation in bioterrorism preparedness activities, such as bioterrorism-related exercises or drills, have not been evaluated. We mailed a survey to all members of the Missouri Nurses Association in July 2006, consisting of 1,528 registered nurses. The instrument measured risk perception, perceived susceptibility, perceived seriousness, bioterrorism education received, participation in exercises/drills, and personal response plan thoroughness. The response rate was 31% (474/1,528). Most respondents believe that a bioterrorism attack will occur in the U.S. (82.3%; n = 390), but few (21.3%; n = 101) believe that one will occur in their community. The majority of nurses reported that they believe that a bioterrorism attack would have serious consequences (96.1%, n = 448), including having a serious impact on U.S. citizens' safety (90.7%, n = 446) and on their own safety (84.3%, n = 379). Most (60%, n = 284) reported that they had not received any bioterrorism-related education nor participated in any drills/exercises (82.7%, n = 392). Of those who had received education, most had participated in 3 or fewer programs and in only 1 drill. Few nurses (3.6%, n = 15) reported having all aspects of a personal bioterrorism response plan; approximately 20% (19.4%, n = 81) did not have any components of a plan. Most of the registered nurses in Missouri who were surveyed are not receiving bioterrorism education, participating in bioterrorism exercises, or developing thorough personal response plans. Nurses need to be aware of and encouraged to participate in the many education and training opportunities on bioterrorism and infectious disease disasters.

Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) emergencies need particular hospital preparedness and resources availability. Also, specific skills and capabilities are required for efficient response to these types of events. The aim of this study was to develop an assessment tool to evaluate hospital preparedness and response performance with respect to CBRN emergencies. An evaluation tool was developed using the Delphi technique. A panel of experts from 10 countries, both European and non-European, with more than 5 years of experience in research or practice in CBRN emergency management was involved in this study. The study was run online, and the experts were asked to evaluate a list of items on hospital preparedness and response in CBRN emergencies. A threshold of 85% agreement level was defined as the consensus of experts in this study. The first-round questionnaire was answered by 13 experts. Consensus on the preparedness section was reached for all 29 items during the first round and one item was also added by the experts. Consensus on the response performance indicators were reached in 51 out of the 59 items, during the first round, and eight items were modified and then approved in the second round by the experts. Hospitals need a specific level of preparedness to enable an effective response to CBRN emergencies. The assessment tool, developed through experts' consensus in this study, provides a standardized method for the evaluation of hospital preparedness and response performance with respect to CBRN emergencies. The feasibility and reliability of this assessment tool could be evaluated before and during simulated exercises in a standardized manner.

Full Text Available Many university libraries now utilize an ElectronicResource Management (ERM system to assist with operations related to electronicresources. An ERM is a relational database containing information such as suppliers, costs, holdings, and renewal dates for electronicresources, both at the database and title levels. While commercial ERM products are widely available, some institutions are custom building their own ERM in- house. This article describes how York University in Toronto, Canada, did just that by building a system called Managing University Library ElectronicResources (MULER. The article details the background and history of how electronicresources were managed pre-MULER; why a new ERM was needed; the planning process; the current and innovative functions of MULER, including integration of MULER data into York University Libraries search and discovery layer, Vufind; subject tagging in MULER; new functions to be added; and lessons learned from the project. Positive and negative implications of choosing an in-house project over paying for a commercial product are also discussed.

Both "disaster preparedness" and "public pedagogy" have been broadly defined and diversely utilised. Preparedness has been dealt with in disciplines such as civil engineering, the sociology of disasters, public health and psychology, rather than education. Recently, inquiries into the learning and teaching of preparedness have…

Both "disaster preparedness" and "public pedagogy" have been broadly defined and diversely utilised. Preparedness has been dealt with in disciplines such as civil engineering, the sociology of disasters, public health and psychology, rather than education. Recently, inquiries into the learning and teaching of preparedness have…

Introduction Members of faith-based organizations (FBOs) are in a unique position to provide support and services to their local communities during disasters. Because of their close community ties and well-established trust, they can play an especially critical role in helping communities heal in the aftermath of a mass-fatality incident (MFI). Faith-based organizations are considered an important disaster resource and partner under the National Response Plan (NRP) and National Response Framework; however, their level of preparedness and response capabilities with respect to MFIs has never been evaluated. The purpose of this study was threefold: (1) to develop appropriate measures of preparedness for this sector; (2) to assess MFI preparedness among United States FBOs; and (3) to identify key factors associated with MFI preparedness. Problem New metrics for MFI preparedness, comprised of three domains (organizational capabilities, operational capabilities, and resource sharing partnerships), were developed and tested in a national convenience sample of FBO members. Data were collected using an online anonymous survey that was distributed through two major, national faith-based associations and social media during a 6-week period in 2014. Descriptive, bivariate, and correlational analyses were conducted. One hundred twenty-four respondents completed the online survey. More than one-half of the FBOs had responded to MFIs in the previous five years. Only 20% of respondents thought that roughly three-quarters of FBO clergy would be able to respond to MFIs, with or without hazardous contamination. A higher proportion (45%) thought that most FBO clergy would be willing to respond, but only 37% thought they would be willing if hazardous contamination was involved. Almost all respondents reported that their FBO was capable of providing emotional care and grief counseling in response to MFIs. Resource sharing partnerships were typically in place with other voluntary

Full Text Available While academic libraries in most countries are struggling to negotiate with publishers and vendors individually or collaboratively via consortia, a few countries have experimented with a different model, national site licensing (NSL. Because NSL often involves government and large-scale collaboration, it has the potential to solve many problems in the complex licensing world. However, not many nations have adopted it. This study uses historical research approach and the comparative case study research method to explore the seemingly low level of adoption. The cases include the Canadian National Site Licensing Project (CNSLP, the United Kingdom’s National Electronic Site Licensing Initiative (NESLI, and the United States, which has not adopted NSL. The theoretical framework guiding the research design and data collection is W. Richard Scott’s institutional theory, which utilizes three supporting pillars—regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive—to analyze institutional processes. In this study, the regulative pillar and the normative pillar of NSL adoption— an institutional construction and change—are examined. Data were collected from monographs, research articles, government documents, and relevant websites. Based on the analysis of these cases, a preliminary model is proposed for the adoption of NSL. The factors that support a country’s adoption of NSL include the need for new institutions, a centralized educational policy-making system and funding system, supportive political trends, and the tradition of cooperation. The factors that may prevent a country from adopting NSL include decentralized educational policy and funding, diversity and the large number of institutions, the concern for the “Big Deal,” and the concern for monopoly.

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Although public health guidelines have implications for resource allocation, these issues were not explicitly considered in previous WHO pandemic preparedness and response guidance. In order to ensure a thorough and informed revision of this guidance following the H1N1 2009 pandemic, a systematic review of published and unpublished economic evaluations of preparedness strategies and interventions against influenza pandemics was conducted. METHODS: The search was performed in September 2011 using 10 electronic databases, 2 internet search engines, reference list screening, cited reference searching, and direct communication with relevant authors. Full and partial economic evaluations considering both costs and outcomes were included. Conversely, reviews, editorials, and studies on economic impact or complications were excluded. Studies were selected by 2 independent reviewers. RESULTS: 44 studies were included. Although most complied with the cost effectiveness guidelines, the quality of evidence was limited. However, the data sources used were of higher quality in economic evaluations conducted after the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. Vaccination and drug regimens were varied. Pharmaceutical plus non-pharmaceutical interventions are relatively cost effective in comparison to vaccines and/or antivirals alone. Pharmaceutical interventions vary from cost saving to high cost effectiveness ratios. According to ceiling thresholds (Gross National Income per capita, the reduction of non-essential contacts and the use of pharmaceutical prophylaxis plus the closure of schools are amongst the cost effective strategies for all countries. However, quarantine for household contacts is not cost effective even for low and middle income countries. CONCLUSION: The available evidence is generally inconclusive regarding the cost effectiveness of preparedness strategies and interventions against influenza pandemics. Studies on their effectiveness and cost

Full Text Available The objective of this study is to know the rate and purpose of the use of e-resource by the scientists at pharmacopoeial libraries in India. Among other things, this study examined the preferences of the scientists toward printed books and journals, electronic information resources, and pattern of using e-resources. Non-probability sampling specially accidental and purposive technique was applied in the collection of primary data through administration of user questionnaire. The sample respondents chosen for the study consists of principle scientific officer, senior scientific officer, scientific officer, and scientific assistant of different division of the laboratories, namely, research and development, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacovigilance, pharmacology, pharmacogonosy, and microbiology. The findings of the study reveal the personal experiences and perceptions they have had on practice and research activity using e-resource. The major findings indicate that of the total anticipated participants, 78% indicated that they perceived the ability to use computer for electronic information resources. The data analysis shows that all the scientists belonging to the pharmacopoeial libraries used electronic information resources to address issues relating to drug indexes and compendia, monographs, drugs obtained through online databases, e-journals, and the Internet sources—especially polices by regulatory agencies, contacts, drug promotional literature, and standards.

Electronic health records (EHRs) provide clinical learning opportunities through quick and contextual linkage of patient signalment, symptom, and diagnosis data with knowledge resources covering tests, drugs, conditions, procedures, and client instructions. This paper introduces the EHR standards for linkage and the partners-practitioners, content publishers, and software developers-necessary to leverage this possibility in veterinary medicine. The efforts of the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) Electronic Health Records Task Force to partner with veterinary practice management systems to improve the use of controlled vocabulary is a first step in the development of standards for sharing knowledge at the point of care. The Veterinary Medical Libraries Section (VMLS) of the Medical Library Association's Task Force on Connecting the Veterinary Health Record to Information Resources compiled a list of resources of potential use at point of care. Resource details were drawn from product Web sites and organized by a metric used to evaluate medical point-of-care resources. Additional information was gathered from questions sent by e-mail and follow-up interviews with two practitioners, a hospital network, two software developers, and three publishers. Veterinarians with electronic records use a variety of information resources that are not linked to their software. Systems lack the infrastructure to use the Infobutton standard that has been gaining popularity in human EHRs. While some veterinary knowledge resources are digital, publisher sites and responses do not indicate a Web-based linkage of veterinary resources with EHRs. In order to facilitate lifelong learning and evidence-based practice, veterinarians and educators of future practitioners must demonstrate to veterinary practice software developers and publishers a clinically-based need to connect knowledge resources to veterinary EHRs.

Full Text Available Research and innovation are listed as the key success factors for the future development of Finnish prosperity and the Finnish economy. The Finnish libraries have developed a scenario to support this vision. University, polytechnic and research institute libraries as well as public libraries have defined the core electronicresources necessary to improve access to information in Finland. The primary aim of this work has been to provide information and justification for central funding for electronicresources to support the national goals. The secondary aim is to help with the reallocation of existing central funds to better support access to information.

CDC provides direction, support, and coordination to help the public be prepared. This podcast discusses how parents and students can be prepared at school. Created: 7/28/2014 by Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (PHPR). Date Released: 7/31/2014.

We live in a time of great enthusiasm for the role that e-Portfolios can play in education and a time of exploration in which educators and researchers are investigating different approaches to using ePortfolios to differentially support educational goals. In this paper, we focus on preparedness portfolios and portfolio studios as two key…

Most Americans who consider emergency preparedness think of someone or another country attacking the United States. Most newspaper and televised accounts involve community leaders and policymakers preparing for a terrorist attack. However, anyone who operates a child care center, family child care home, or has children of her own, knows that…

The aims of the education for natural disaster preparedness in Taiwan are to prepare every school disaster free and every student with disaster preparedness. The education for disaster preparedness has been through three stages since 2003: project for cultivating professionals for disaster preparedness education (2003-2006), project for disaster preparedness schools (2006- 2010), and building networks of disaster preparedness schools (2011-2014). The framework of the disaster preparedness edu...

The aims of the education for natural disaster preparedness in Taiwan are to prepare every school disaster free and every student with disaster preparedness. The education for disaster preparedness has been through three stages since 2003: project for cultivating professionals for disaster preparedness education (2003-2006), project for disaster preparedness schools (2006- 2010), and building networks of disaster preparedness schools (2011-2014). The framework of the disaster preparedness edu...

Full Text Available For many years, library users have used only from the printed media in order to get the information that they have needed. Today with the widespread use of the Web and the addition of electronic information resources to library collections, the use of information in the electronic environment as well as in printed media is started to be used. In time, such types of information resources as, electronic journals, electronic books, electronic encyclopedias, electronic dictionaries and electronic theses have been added to library collections. In this study, selection criteria that can be used for electronic information resources are discussed and suggestions are provided for libraries that try to select electronic information resources for their collections.

Planning and preparation in advance for radiological emergencies can help to minimise potential public health and environmental threats if and when an actual emergency occurs. During the planning process, emergency response organisations think through how they would respond to each type of incident and the resources that will be needed. In Malaysia, planning, preparation for and response to radiological emergencies involve many parties. In the event of a radiological emergency and if it is considered a disaster, the National Security Council, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board and the Malaysian Nuclear Agency (Nuclear Malaysia) will work together with other federal agencies, state and local governments, first responders and international organisations to monitor the situation, contain the release, and clean up the contaminated site. Throughout the response, these agencies use their protective action guidelines. This paper discusses Malaysian preparedness for, and response to, any potential radiological emergency.

This study aimed at investigating the factual situation of electronic information resources centers to faculty members at university education. Competencies that faculty members should possess regarding this issue were determined. Also their needs for (scientific research skills and teaching) were assessed. In addition, problems that hinder their…

In this paper, we provide an analysis of the complexities involved during global e-HRM (Electronic Human Resource Management) implementation. We present findings from a case study on the challenge of global integration versus local responsiveness of e-HRM systems. We take a local site lens, analysin

This study examined the use of electronicresources among academic scholars of The Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB), Punjab, Pakistan. A quantitative survey was found most convenient and useful for this study. The total population of the study was 169 research students in IUB. The response rate was 79% and 133 utilizable responses were coded…

As library collections increasingly become digital, libraries are faced with many challenges regarding the acquisition and management of electronicresources. Some of these challenges include copyright and fair use, the first-sale doctrine, licensing versus ownership, digital preservation, long-term archiving, and, most important, the issue of…

Compared with traditional paper resources, electronicresources have following characteristics which determine different cataloging strategies from paper resources. These characteristics are huge quantity, updating rapidly, coexistence of a variety of manifestations. The source data of electronicresources is usually provided by the database agent. The cataloging of electronicresources is based on the Chapter IX of Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, Library of Congress Rule Interpretations and rules of Cooperative Online Serials. There are two major cataloging methods for electronicresources abroad, they are single record approach and separate record approach. Peking University Library chooses the latter method and batches cataloging automatically using the source data.%电子资源吲传统纸质资源相比，具有数量大、更新快、多种载体表现并行等特点，且大部分出版机构能够提供数据源数据。这些特点决定了．电子资源应采取与纸质文献不同的编目策略。电子资源编日的主要依据是《英美编日条例》的第9章、美国《国会图书馆条例解释》及全美期刊合作编目计划的规定。对于电子资源的编目，国外有单一记录编目法和分散记录编目法。北京大学图书馆采用后者，同时利用数据源数据批舒自动编目。

Battery power resource management becomes a critical issue in the case of self-powered remote wireless RF electronics, where the basic parameter is time of system operation before battery recharging or battery replacement. In such cases, very often related to physical protection against antitampering (AT), proper theoretical modeling of a battery driven power supply in the context of a given digital electronic system is of utmost importance. Such modeling should include various types of batteries (primary and secondary), various self-discharge processes in different temperatures, and even energy harvesting, the latter to supply power for long-term content, low-power electronic subsystems. In this paper we analyze simple modeling of resource power management, including variations of all of these parameters and energy harvesting.

Local public health authorities (LPHAs) are recognized as playing critical roles in response to biological, chemical, and other health emergencies. An influx of emergency preparedness funding has created new and expanding responsibilities for LPHAs. Concern that funding for emergency response is diverting attention and resources away from other core public health responsibilities is increasing. In order to determine the impact of emergency preparedness funding on public health infrastructure, qualitative interviews with 27 LPHAs in the metro-Boston area were conducted as part of an on-going evaluation of preparedness planning in Massachusetts. Feedback on the benefits and challenges of recent emergency preparedness planning mandates was obtained. Benefits include opportunities to develop relationships within and across public health departments and increases in communication between local and state authorities. Challenges include budget constraints, staffing shortages, and competing public responsibilities. Policy recommendations for improving planning for emergency response at the local level are provided.

Ever since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the federal government increased funding for emergency preparedness. However, the literature continues to document several areas of weaknesses in public health emergency management by local health departments (LHD). This literature review discusses the role of information technology (IT) for emergency preparedness by LHDs. The focus areas for this review include evaluating the strategic management of IT by LHD, evaluation of the adoption and implementation of IT in emergency management, and assessing LHD's capacity and capability for emergency preparedness. Findings reveal that LHDs face significant challenges in the utilization of IT for emergency preparedness purposes such as weak capacity and capabilities, lack of structured planning and program implementation, and limited resources. Implications from this review include the development of "best practices," increased funding for IT infrastructure, and the establishment of strategic management framework for IT initiatives.

Tsunamis are a constant threat to the coasts of our world. Although tsunamis are infrequent along the West coast of the United States, it is possible and necessary to prepare for potential tsunami hazards to minimize loss of life and property. Community awareness programs are important, as they strive to create an informed society by providing education and training. This video about tsunami preparedness in Oregon distinguishes between a local tsunami and a distant event and focus on the specific needs of this region. It offers guidelines for correct tsunami response and community preparedness from local emergency managers, first-responders, and leading experts on tsunami hazards and warnings, who have been working on ways of making the tsunami affected regions safer for the people and communities on a long-term basis. This video was produced by the US Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI).

Tsunamis are a constant threat to the coasts of our world. Although tsunamis are infrequent along the West coast of the United States, it is possible and necessary to prepare for potential tsunami hazards to minimize loss of life and property. Community awareness programs are important, as they strive to create an informed society by providing education and training. This video about tsunami preparedness in Washington distinguishes between a local tsunami and a distant event and focus on the specific needs of this region. It offers guidelines for correct tsunami response and community preparedness from local emergency managers, first-responders, and leading experts on tsunami hazards and warnings, who have been working on ways of making the tsunami affected regions safer for the people and communities on a long-term basis. This video was produced by the US Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with Washington Emergency Management Division (EMD) and with funding by the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program.

This article reports on the design, evaluation framework, and results from the Meta-Leadership Summit for Preparedness Initiative. The Meta-Leadership Summit for Preparedness was a 5-year initiative based on the premise that national preparedness and emergency response is not solely the responsibility of government. From 2006 to 2011, 36 Meta-Leadership Summits were delivered in communities across the country. Summits were customized, 10-hour leadership development, networking, and community action planning events. They included participation from targeted federal, state, local, nonprofit/philanthropic, and private sector leaders who are directly involved in decision making during a major community or state-wide emergency. A total of 4,971 government, nonprofit, and business leaders attended Meta-Leadership Summits; distribution of attendees by sector was balanced. Ninety-three percent of respondents reported the summit was a valuable use of time, 91% reported the overall quality as “good” or “outstanding,” and 91% would recommend the summit to their colleagues. In addition, approximately 6 months after attending a summit, 80% of respondents reported that they had used meta-leadership concepts or principles. Of these, 93% reported that using meta-leadership concepts or principles had made a positive difference for them and their organizations. The Meta-Leadership Summit for Preparedness Initiative was a value-added opportunity for communities, providing the venue for learning the concepts and practice of meta-leadership, multisector collaboration, and resource sharing with the intent of substantively improving preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. PMID:24251597

Full Text Available 無Effective electronicresource sharing is critical to library information services of the 1990s. Explosion of data and increased cost of information force libraries to work together, and technological advancements present the library service profession a platform for resource sharing. The Palladian Alliance Project of the Associated Colleges of the South is designed to provides ACS member institutions an effective means to enhance information access for their faculty and students, and achieve significant cost containment in the years to come.

CDCâs Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response funds Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Centers (PERRCs) to examine components of the public health system. This podcast is an overview of mental and behavioral health tools developed by the Johns Hopkins PERRC. Created: 8/29/2011 by Emergency Risk Communication Branch (ERCB)/Joint Information Center (JIC); Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR). Date Released: 8/30/2011.

(Purpose) This study surveyed the level of availability, use and constraints to use of electronicresources among law lecturers in Nigeria. (Methodology) Five hundred and fifty-two law lecturers were surveyed and four hundred and forty-two responded. (Results) Data analysis revealed that the level of availability of electronicresources for the…

As a result of the continuous release of new electronic devices, existing electronic devices are quickly made obsolete and rapidly become electronic waste (e-waste). Because e-waste contains a variety of metals, information about those metals with the potential for substantial environmental impact should be provided to manufacturers, recyclers, and disposers to proactively reduce this impact. This study assesses the resource and toxicity (i.e., cancer, noncancer, and ecotoxicity) potentials of various heavy metals commonly found in e-waste from laptop computers, liquid-crystal display (LCD) monitors, LCD TVs, plasma TVs, color cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs, and cell phones and then evaluates such potentials using life cycle impact-based methods. Resource potentials derive primarily from Cu, Sb, Ag, and Pb. Toxicity potentials derive primarily from Pb, Ni, and Hg for cancer toxicity; from Pb, Hg, Zn, and As for noncancer toxicity; and from Cu, Pb, Hg, and Zn for ecotoxicity. Therefore, managing these heavy metals should be a high priority in the design, recycling, and disposal stages of electronic devices.

Full Text Available Purpose of the article: improving of scientific and methodical base of the theory of the е-learning of variability. Methods used: conceptual and logical modeling of the е-learning of variability process with electronic educational resource of new generation and system analysis of the interconnection of the studied subject area, methods, didactics approaches and information and communication technologies means. Results: the formalization complex model of the е-learning of variability with electronic educational resource of new generation is developed, conditionally decomposed into three basic components: the formalization model of the course in the form of the thesaurusclassifier (“Author of e-resource”, the model of learning as management (“Coordination. Consultation. Control”, the learning model with the thesaurus-classifier (“Student”. Model “Author of e-resource” allows the student to achieve completeness, high degree of didactic elaboration and structuring of the studied material in triples of variants: modules of education information, practical task and control tasks; the result of the student’s (author’s of e-resource activity is the thesaurus-classifier. Model of learning as management is based on the principle of personal orientation of learning in computer environment and determines the logic of interaction between the lecturer and the student when determining the triple of variants individually for each student; organization of a dialogue between the lecturer and the student for consulting purposes; personal control of the student’s success (report generation and iterative search for the concept of the class assignment in the thesaurus-classifier before acquiring the required level of training. Model “Student” makes it possible to concretize the learning tasks in relation to the personality of the student and to the training level achieved; the assumption of the lecturer about the level of training of a

Context: Neonatal resuscitation is a critical component of perinatal services in all settings. Purpose: To systematically describe preparedness of rural hospitals for neonatal resuscitation, and to determine whether delivery volume and level of perinatal care were associated with overall preparedness or its indicators. Methods: We developed the…

..., emergencies and natural disasters have tested the fabric of our country. During National Preparedness Month... recover from natural disasters that have spanned historic drought to devastating wildfires and storms, we... role to play in bolstering our preparedness for disasters of all types--from cyber incidents and...

Context: Neonatal resuscitation is a critical component of perinatal services in all settings. Purpose: To systematically describe preparedness of rural hospitals for neonatal resuscitation, and to determine whether delivery volume and level of perinatal care were associated with overall preparedness or its indicators. Methods: We developed the…

Context and Purpose: Rural communities face substantial risks of natural disasters but rural hospitals face multiple obstacles to preparedness. The objective was to create and implement a simple and effective training and planning exercise to assist individual rural hospitals to improve disaster preparedness, as well as to enhance regional…

This study examined the state of safety and terrorist attack preparedness in Rhode Island Schools as determined by Rhode Island school leader perceptions. The study is descriptive in nature as it gathers data to describe a particular event or situation. Using a researcher generated survey based on terrorist preparedness guidelines and suggestions…

Pandemic influenza planning in the United States violates the demands of social justice in 2 fundamental respects: it embraces the neutrality of procedural justice at the expense of more substantive concern with health disparities, thus perpetuating a predictable and preventable social injustice, and it fails to move beyond lament to practical planning for alleviating barriers to accessing care. A pragmatic social justice approach, addressing both health disparities and access barriers, should inform pandemic preparedness. Achieving social justice goals in pandemic response is challenging, but strategies are available to overcome the obstacles. The public engagement process of one state's pandemic ethics project influenced the development of these strategies.

Response time in emergency medical services (EMS) is defined as the interval for an ambulance to arrive the scene after receipt of a 911 call. When several ambulances are available upon the receipt of a new call, a decision of selecting an ambulance has to be made in an effort to reduce response time. Dispatching the closest unit available is commonly used in practice; however, recently the Preparedness policy was designed that is in a simplistic form yet being capable of securing a long-term efficiency. This research aims to improve the Preparedness policy, resolving several critical issues inherent in the current form of the policy. The new Preparedness policy incorporates a new metric of preparedness based on the notion of centrality and involves a tuning parameter, weight on preparedness, which has to be appropriately chosen according to operational scenario. Computational experiment shows that the new policy significantly improves the former policy robustly in various scenarios.

In the United States (US), Medical Examiners and Coroners (ME/Cs) have the legal authority for the management of mass fatality incidents (MFI). Yet, preparedness and operational capabilities in this sector remain largely unknown. The purpose of this study was twofold; first, to identify appropriate measures of preparedness, and second, to assess preparedness levels and factors significantly associated with preparedness. Three separate checklists were developed to measure different aspects of preparedness: MFI Plan Elements, Operational Capabilities, and Pre-existing Resource Networks. Using a cross-sectional study design, data on these and other variables of interest were collected in 2014 from a national convenience sample of ME/C using an internet-based, anonymous survey. Preparedness levels were determined and compared across Federal Regions and in relation to the number of Presidential Disaster Declarations, also by Federal Region. Bivariate logistic and multivariable models estimated the associations between organizational characteristics and relative preparedness. A large proportion (42%) of respondents reported that less than 25 additional fatalities over a 48-hour period would exceed their response capacities. The preparedness constructs measured three related, yet distinct, aspects of preparedness, with scores highly variable and generally suboptimal. Median scores for the three preparedness measures also varied across Federal Regions and as compared to the number of Presidential Declared Disasters, also by Federal Region. Capacity was especially limited for activating missing persons call centers, launching public communications, especially via social media, and identifying temporary interment sites. The provision of staff training was the only factor studied that was significantly (positively) associated (p preparedness measures. Although ME/Cs ranked local partners, such as Offices of Emergency Management, first responders, and

On December 15, 2003, the Centers for Public Health Preparedness at the University of Minnesota and the University of Iowa convened the "Public Health and Terrorism Preparedness: Cross-Border Issues Roundtable." The purpose of the roundtable was to gather public health professionals and government agency representatives at the state, provincial, and local levels to identify unmet cross-border emergency preparedness and response needs and develop strategies for addressing these needs. Representatives from six state and local public health departments and three provincial governments were invited to identify cross-border needs and issues using a nominal group process. The result of the roundtable was identification of the needs considered most important and most doable across all the focus groups. The need to collaborate on and exchange plans and protocols among agencies was identified as most important and most doable across all groups. Development of contact protocols and creation and maintenance of a contact database was also considered important and doable for a majority of groups. Other needs ranked important across the majority of groups included specific isolation and quarantine protocols for multi-state responses; a system for rapid and secure exchange of information; specific protocols for sharing human resources across borders, including emergency credentials for physicians and health care workers; and a specific protocol to coordinate Strategic National Stockpile mechanisms across border communities.

Full Text Available Abstract Background The West Sumatra earthquake that occurred on September 30, 2009, caused severe damage in some districts, including Padang Pariaman. As Padang Pariaman is an earthquake-prone area, disaster and emergency management is necessary. Due to the limited health facilities, the health services completely rely on Puskesmas (Primary Health Centres, PHCs. This study is aimed at assessing the preparedness of PHCs to response to potential disasters in their surrounding area. Findings Padang Pariaman district was used in a case study setting to assess the readiness and preparedness of the PHCs there to face disasters. Self-administered questionnaire, key informant interview, and direct observation were used to obtain the data on human resources, facilities preparedness, and the procedures. The investigation focused on measuring four aspects, i.e. human resources, facilities preparedness, standard operating procedure (SOP, and policy. Due to the limited co-operation of the head of the PHCs, three PHCs were directly observed as a subsample. The evaluation was performed six months after the impact phase of the earthquake and three months after the PHCs' health staff training on improving the primary health care services. The number and quality of health staff in Padang Pariaman was far below ideal. Fewer than half of the PHCs had emergency facilities and only one considered the need for triage and fire management, whereas the transportation mode was still limited. An SOP and policy for facing disasters were not available in any of the PHCs. Therefore, promoting disaster preparedness, technical provision, including health staff training, is necessary. Conclusions Padang Pariaman district has not yet prepared its PHCs to face disaster, so it is apparent that PHCs' disaster preparedness in Padang Pariaman and also other earthquake-prone areas in Indonesia should be promoted. This should include increasing the number of doctors, providing training

Introduction Disasters will continue to occur throughout the world and it is the responsibility of the government, health care systems, and communities to adequately prepare for potential catastrophic scenarios. Unfortunately, low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) are especially vulnerable following a disaster. By understanding disaster preparedness and risk perception, interventions can be developed to improve community preparedness and avoid unnecessary mortality and morbidity following a natural disaster. Problem The purpose of this study was to assess disaster preparedness and risk perception in communities surrounding Trujillo, Peru. After designing a novel disaster preparedness and risk perception survey based on guidelines from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC; Geneva, Switzerland), investigators performed a cross-sectional survey of potentially vulnerable communities surrounding Trujillo, Peru. Data were entered and analyzed utilizing the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap; Harvard Catalyst; Boston, Massachusetts USA) database. A total of 230 study participants were surveyed, composed of 37% males, 63% females, with ages ranging from 18-85 years old. Those surveyed who had previously experienced a disaster (41%) had a higher perception of future disaster occurrence and potential disaster impact on their community. Overall, the study participants consistently perceived that earthquakes and infection had the highest potential impact of all disasters. Twenty-six percent of participants had an emergency supply of food, 24% had an emergency water plan, 24% had a first aid kit at home, and only 20% of the study participants had an established family evacuation plan. Natural and man-made disasters will remain a threat to the safety and health of communities in all parts of the world, especially within vulnerable communities in LMICs; however, little research has been done to identify disaster perception

Tsunamis are a constant threat to the coasts of our world. Although tsunamis are infrequent along the West coast of the United States, it is possible and necessary to prepare for potential tsunami hazards to minimize loss of life and property. Community awareness programs are important, as they strive to create an informed society by providing education and training. These videos about tsunami preparedness in California distinguish between a local tsunami and a distant event and focus on the specific needs of each region. They offer guidelines for correct tsunami response and community preparedness from local emergency managers, first-responders, and leading experts on tsunami hazards and warnings, who have been working on ways of making the tsunami affected regions safer for the people and communities on a long-term basis. These videos were produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA) and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).

Estimate knowledge and use habits of different electronicresources in a sample of Spanish intensivists: Internet, E-mail, distribution lists, and use of portable electronic devices. Self-applied questionnaire. A 50-question questionnaire was distributed among Spanish intensivists through the hospital marketing delegates of a pharmaceutical company and of electronic forums. A total of 682 questionnaires were analyzed (participation: 74%). Ninety six percent of those surveyed used Internet individually: 67% admitted training gap. Internet was the second source of clinical consultations most used (61%), slightly behind consultation to colleagues (65%). The pages consulted most were bibliographic databases (65%) and electronic professional journals (63%), with limited use of Evidence Based Medicine pages (19%). Ninety percent of those surveyed used e-mail regularly in the practice of their profession, although 25% admitted that were not aware of its possibilities. The use of E-mail decreased significantly with increase in age. A total of 62% of the intensivists used distribution lists. Of the rest, 42% were not aware of its existence and 32% admitted they had insufficient training to handle them. Twenty percent of those surveyed had portable electronic devices and 64% considered it useful, basically due to its rapid consultation at bedside. Female gender was a negative predictive factor of its use (OR 0.35; 95% CI 0.2-0.63; p=0.0002). A large majority of the Spanish intensivists use Internet and E-mail. E-mail lists and use of portable devices are still underused resources. There are important gaps in training and infrequent use of essential pages. There are specific groups that require directed educational policies.

For waste from electric and electronic equipment, the WEEE Directive stipulates the separate collection of electric and electronic waste. As to new electric and electronic devices, the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive bans the use of certain chemicals dangerous for man and environment. From the implementation of the WEEE directive, many unsolved problems have been documented: poor collection success, emission of dangerous substances during collection and recycling, irretrievable loss of valuable metals among others. As to RoHS, data from the literature show a satisfying success. The problems identified in the process can be reduced to some basic dilemmas at the borders between waste management, product policy and chemical safety. The objectives of the WEEE Directive and the specific targets for use and recycling of appliances are not consistent. There is no focus on scarce resources. Extended producer responsibility is not sufficient to guarantee sustainable waste management. Waste management reaches its limits due to problems of implementation but also due to physical laws. A holistic approach is necessary looking at all branch points and sinks in the stream of used products and waste from electric and electronic equipment. This may be done with respect to the general rules for sustainable management of material streams covering the three dimensions of sustainable policy. The relationships between the players in the field of electric and electronic devices have to be taken into account. Most of the problems identified in the implementation process will not be solved by the current amendment of the WEEE Directive.

The continuous deployments of polio resources, infrastructures and systems for responding to other disease outbreaks in many African countries has led to a number of lessons considered as best practice that need to be documented for strengthening preparedness and response activities in future outbreaks. We reviewed and documented the influence of polio best practices in outbreak preparedness and response in Angola, Nigeria and Ethiopia. Data from relevant programmes of the WHO African Region were also analyzed to demonstrate clearly the relative contributions of PEI resources and infrastructure to effective disease outbreak preparedness and response. Polio resources including, human, financial, and logistic, tool and strategies have tremendously contributed to responding to diseases outbreaks across the African region. In Angola, Nigeria and Ethiopia, many disease epidemics including Marburg Hemorrhagic fever, Dengue fever, Ebola Virus Diseases (EVD), Measles, Anthrax and Shigella have been controlled using existing polio Eradication Initiatives resources. Polio staffs are usually deployed in occasions to supports outbreak response activities (coordination, surveillance, contact tracing, case investigation, finance, data management, etc.). Polio logistics such vehicles, laboratories were also used in the response activities to other infectious diseases. Many polio tools including micro planning, dashboard, guidelines, SOPs on preparedness and response have also benefited to other epidemic-prone diseases. The Countries' preparedness and response plan to WPV importation as well as the Polio Emergency Operation Center models were successfully used to develop, strengthen and respond to many other diseases outbreak with the implication of partners and the strong leadership and ownership of governments. This review has important implications for WHO/AFRO initiative to strengthening and improving disease outbreak preparedness and responses in the African Region in respect

The university library of Kassel therefore uses SemperTool’s web-based electronicresource management system RMS. This paper presents the functionality of this system and makes an estimate of the expenditure of work necessary to enter all relevant information about licensed databases, e-book and e-journal packages with the corresponding individual resources. It also describes existing and projected tools for analysis and evaluation, which are decisive for the usefulness of such a system, and concludes with the satisfaction reached at the university library of Kassel. These experiences may help other libraries to decide whether or not to introduce RMS or a comparable system.

Disasters disproportionately impact certain segments of the population, including children, pregnant women, people living with disabilities and chronic conditions and those who are underserved and under-resourced. One of the most vulnerable groups includes the community-dwelling elderly. Post-disaster analyses indicate that these individuals have higher risk of disaster-related morbidity and mortality. They also have suboptimal levels of disaster preparedness in terms of their ability to shelter-in-place or evacuate to a shelter. The reasons for this have not been well characterized, although impaired health, financial limitations, and social isolation are believed to act as barriers to preparedness as well as to adaptability to changes in the environment both during and in the immediate aftermath of disasters. In order to identify strategies that address barriers to preparedness, we recently conducted a qualitative study of 50 elderly home care recipients living in San Francisco. Data were collected during in-home, in-person interviews using a semi-structured interview guide that included psychosocial constructs based on the social cognitive preparedness model and a new 13-item preparedness checklist. The mean preparedness score was 4.74 (max 13, range 1-11, SD. 2.11). Over 60 % of the participants reported that they had not made back-up plans for caregiver assistance during times of crisis, 74 % had not made plans for transportation to a shelter, 56 % lacked a back-up plan for electrical equipment in case of power outages, and 44 % had not prepared an emergency contacts list-the most basic element of preparedness. Impairments, disabilities, and resource limitations served as barriers to preparedness. Cognitive processes that underlie motivation and intentions for preparedness behaviors were lacking. There were limitations with respect to critical awareness of hazards (saliency), self-efficacy, outcome expectancy, and perceived responsibility. There was also a

Full Text Available This article contains material of some modern electronic educational resources that can be used via the Internet to support the modern chemistry classes in specialized school. It was drawn attention to the educational chemical experiments as means of knowledge; simulated key motivational characteristics to enhance students interest for learning subjects, their cognitive and practical activity in the formation of self-reliance and self-creative; commented forecasts for creating of conditions to enhance the creative potential of students in a modern learning environment.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funded Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Centers (PERLCs) across the United States. The PERLCs provide training to state, local, and tribal public health organizations to meet workforce development needs in the areas of public health preparedness and response, specialized training, education, and consultation. Using Donald Kirkpatrick's training evaluation model, the PERLC network established 4 evaluation working groups that developed evaluation criteria to address each level of the model. The purpose of the working groups was to inform and promote center-level and program-level evaluation across the PERLC network; identify common training evaluation methods and measures; and share materials, resources, and lessons learned with state, local, and tribal public health organizations for potential replication. The evaluation of education and training, irrespective of its modality (eg, in-person, online, webinars, seminars, symposia) can be accomplished using Kirkpatrick's 4-level taxonomy. The 4 levels aim to measure the following aspects of training programs: (1) trainees' reaction; (2) knowledge acquired, skills improved, or attitudes changed; (3) behavior changed; and (4) results or impact. To successfully evaluate emergency preparedness training, drills and exercises, it is necessary to understand the fundamental tenets of each level and how to apply each to measure training outcomes. The PERLC evaluators have adopted the basic schema of Kirkpatrick's 4-level model and applied its structure to a wide variety of preparedness and emergency response training and related activities. The PERLC evaluation working groups successfully developed and tested survey methods and instruments for each of the 4 levels of Kirkpatrick's training evaluation model. Each can be used for replication by state, local, and tribal public health professionals.

High school students often use online databases and the Internet in the school library media center (SLMC) to complete teachers' assignments. This case study used a survey to assess teachers' awareness of electronicresources, and to determine whether their directions influence student use of these resources in the SLMC. Participants were teachers…

Introduction: Electronic knowledge resources have the potential to rapidly provide answers to clinicians' questions. We sought to determine clinicians' reasons for searching these resources, the rate of finding relevant information, and the perceived clinical impact of the information they retrieved. Methods: We asked general internists, family…

Ex-ante measures to improve risk preparedness for natural disasters are generally considered to be more effective than ex-post measures. Nevertheless, most resources are allocated after an event in geographical areas that are vulnerable to natural disasters. This paper analyses the

We examined the role of an in-company training program aimed at enhancing employees' intrinsic work-goal motivation by increasing their career preparedness in a randomized field experimental study. The program activities were implemented using an organization-level two-trainer model with trainers from the human resources management and…

We examined the role of an in-company training program aimed at enhancing employees' intrinsic work-goal motivation by increasing their career preparedness in a randomized field experimental study. The program activities were implemented using an organization-level two-trainer model with trainers from the human resources management and…

For academic institutions to meaningfully contribute to community-disaster preparedness and response, they must effectively collaborate with governmental public health and emergency management agencies. To explore the opinions of leaders of public health and emergency management agencies and academic institutions regarding the facilitators for and barriers to effective collaboration for disaster preparedness and response. We convened focus groups of leaders of state and local public health and emergency management agencies and academic institutions in conjunction with the 2010 Public Health Preparedness Summit and the 2010 Southeastern Center for Emerging Biological Threats Meeting. We employed a semistructured interview guide to elicit information about resources leveraged for community preparedness and response and perceived facilitators and barriers to engagement and on-going collaboration. Focus groups were transcribed verbatim. We performed thematic analysis of the transcripts employing a data-coding scheme based on emergent themes. Academic institutions engaged with public health and emergency management agencies in the provision of an array of resources for community-disaster preparedness and response, ranging from technical expertise to the conduct of training activities, workforce surge capacity, and facility sharing. Recognized barriers to engagement included unfamiliarity of organizational personnel, concerns about ownership of outputs resulting from the collaboration, and differences in organizational culture and modus operandi. On-going relationships through shared training of students and staff and participation in community-level partner meetings facilitated collaboration in disaster response as does having a recognizable point of contact that can comprehensively represent academic institutional resources. Legal issues were identified as both facilitators (eg, contracts) and barriers (eg, liability concerns) to engagement. There are both recognized

Purpose: With electronic medical records (eMRs), the option now exists for clinical trial monitors to perform source data verification (SDV) remotely. We report on a feasibility study of remote access to eMRs for SDV and the potential advantages of such a process in terms of resource allocation and cost. Methods: The Clinical Trials Unit at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, in collaboration with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Australia, conducted a 6-month feasibility study of remote SDV. A Novartis monitor was granted dedicated software and restricted remote access to the eMR portal of the cancer center, thereby providing an avenue through which perform SDV. Results: Six monitoring visits were conducted during the study period, four of which were performed remotely. The ability to conduct two thirds of the monitoring visits remotely in this complex phase III study resulted in an overall cost saving to Novartis. Similarly, remote monitoring eased the strain on internal resources, particularly monitoring space and hospital computer terminal access, at the cancer center. Conclusion: Remote access to patient eMRs for SDV is feasible and is potentially an avenue through which resources can be more efficiently used. Although this feasibility study involved limited numbers, there is no limit to scaling these processes to any number of patients enrolled onto large clinical trials. PMID:23633977

A worldwide repository of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) could provide worldwide access to the most up-to-date research generated by masters and doctoral students. Until that international repository is established, it is possible to access some of these valuable knowledge resources. ETDs provide a technologically advanced medium with endless multimedia capabilities that far exceed the print and bound copies of theses and dissertations housed traditionally in individual university libraries. CURRENT USE: A growing trend exists for universities worldwide to require graduate students to submit theses or dissertations as electronic documents. However, nurse scholars underutilize ETDs, as evidenced by perusing bibliographic citation lists in many of the research journals. ETDs can be searched for and retrieved through several digital resources such as the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (http://www.ndltd.org), ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (http://www.umi.com), the Australasian Digital Theses Program (http://adt.caul.edu.au/) and through individual university web sites and online catalogues. An international repository of ETDs benefits the community of nurse scholars in many ways. The ability to access recent graduate students' research electronically from anywhere in the world is advantageous. For scholars residing in developing countries, access to these ETDs may prove to be even more valuable. In some cases, ETDs are not available for worldwide access and can only be accessed through the university library from which the student graduated. Public access to university library ETD collections is not always permitted. Nurse scholars from both developing and developed countries could benefit from ETDs.

Three studies were designed to extend a combination of vested interest theory (VI) and the extended parallel process model of fear appeals (EPPM) to provide formative research for creating more effective disaster preparedness social action campaigns. The aim was to develop an effective VI scale for assessing individual awareness and 'vestedness' relevant to disaster preparedness. Typical preparedness behaviours are discussed with emphasis on earthquakes and tornados in particular. Brief overviews of VI and the EPPM are offered, and findings are presented from three studies (one dealing with earthquakes, and two with tornados) conducted to determine the factor structure of the key VI components involved, and to develop and test subscales derived from the two theories. The paper finishes with a discussion of future research needs and suggestions on how the new subscales may be applied in the design and execution of more effective disaster preparedness campaigns.

End-of-life electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) has recently received attention as a secondary source of metals. This study examined characteristics of end-of-life EEE as secondary metal resources to consider efficient collection and metal recovery systems according to the specific metals and types of EEE. We constructed an analogy between natural resource development and metal recovery from end-of-life EEE and found that metal content and total annual amount of metal contained in each type of end-of-life EEE should be considered in secondary resource development, as well as the collectability of the end-of-life products. We then categorized 21 EEE types into five groups and discussed their potential as secondary metal resources. Refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, and CRT TVs were evaluated as the most important sources of common metals, and personal computers, mobile phones, and video games were evaluated as the most important sources of precious metals. Several types of small digital equipment were also identified as important sources of precious metals; however, mid-size information and communication technology (ICT) equipment (e.g., printers and fax machines) and audio/video equipment were shown to be more important as a source of a variety of less common metals. The physical collectability of each type of EEE was roughly characterized by unit size and number of end-of-life products generated annually. Current collection systems in Japan were examined and potentially appropriate collection methods were suggested for equipment types that currently have no specific collection systems in Japan, particularly for video games, notebook computers, and mid-size ICT and audio/video equipment.

An overview of the Recommendation Study and the subsequent Implementation of a new ElectronicResources Management system ERMS in an international graduate research university in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It covers the timeline, deliverables and challenges as well as lessons learnt by the Project Team.

Comparative case studies found that regionalization originated from a crisis or perceived need for a coordinated response, a need to build local public health capacity, or an effort to use federal preparedness funds more efficiently. Regions vary in terms of their congruence with regional structures for partner agencies, such as emergency management agencies, as well as hospital and health services markets and organizational structure. Some focus on building formal organizational relationships to coordinate and sometimes standardize preparedness and response activities or build regional capacity, while others focus on building informal professional networks. Whatever the approach, strong leadership and trust are required for effective planning, emergency response, and sustainability. This article suggests that regionalization improves emergency preparedness by allowing for more efficient use of resources and better coordination and demonstrated progress in terms of planning and coordination; regional capacity-building, training, and exercises; and development of professional networks.

Globally, governments and health authorities are preparing for pandemic influenza and producing resources to promote preparedness planning; however, there is little information available to inform the design of strategies to promote preparedness. Three focus groups were conducted to identify and to describe beliefs and perceptions about pandemic influenza and response planning among small and medium business owners and managers. Most participants were not concerned about the risk of pandemic influenza, and none had engaged in any planning for a pandemic. Findings show that participants were uncertain of the modes of transmission of pandemic influenza and what precautions could be taken prior to, or in the event of, a pandemic. Among the most important findings was participants' perceived inability to effectively prevent or control the spread of influenza within their workplace. These findings have important implications for the design of communication strategies to promote preparedness.

Preparation for responding to emergency events that does not warrant outside help beyond the local community resources or responding to disaster events that is beyond the capabilities of the local community both require first responders and healthcare professionals to have interdisciplinary skills needed to function as a team for saving lives. To date, there is no core emergency preparedness and disaster planning competencies that have been standardized at all levels across the various allied health curricula disciplines. To identify if emergency preparedness and disaster training content are currently being taught in allied health program courses, to identify possible gaps within allied health curricula, and to explore the perceptions of allied health college educators for implementing emergency preparedness and disaster training core competencies into their existing curricula, if not already included. A quantitative Internet-based survey was conducted in 2013. Convenient sample. Fifty-one allied health college educators completed the survey. Descriptive statistics indicated that the majority of allied health college instructors do not currently teach emergency preparedness and disaster training core competency content within their current allied health discipline; however, their perceived level of importance for inclusion of the competencies was high. The results of this study supported the need for developing and establishing a basic national set of standardized core emergency preparedness and disaster planning competencies at all levels across various allied health curricula disciplines to ensure victims receive the best patient care and have the best possible chance of survival.

Objective: The authors examined psychiatric residents' attitudes, perceived preparedness, experiences, and needs in end-of-life care education. They also examined how residents conceptualized good end-of-life care and dignity. Methods: The authors conducted an electronic survey of 116 psychiatric residents at the University of Toronto. The survey…

Objective: The authors examined psychiatric residents' attitudes, perceived preparedness, experiences, and needs in end-of-life care education. They also examined how residents conceptualized good end-of-life care and dignity. Methods: The authors conducted an electronic survey of 116 psychiatric residents at the University of Toronto. The survey…

KeySpan Energy Canada is in the process of obtaining recognition of various occupational profiles including pipeline operators, inspectors, and field and plant operators from various certifying organizations. The process of allowing individuals to obtain certification is recognized by Canadian Technology Human Resources Board as a step towards national standards for technologists and technicians. Proven competency is a must for workers in todays oil industry in response to increasingly stringent government safety regulations, environmental concerns and high public scrutiny. Quick Test international Inc. has developed a management tool in collaboration with end users at KeySpan Energy Canada. It is an electronic, Internet based competency tool for tracking personal competencies and maintaining continued competency. Response to the tool has been favourable. 2 refs., 4 figs.

We studied the effect of academic studies with the use a notebook computer and interactive whiteboard on the functional state of an organism of schoolchildren. Using a complex of hygienic and physiological methods of the study we established that regulation of the computer activity of students must take into account not only duration but its intensity either. Design features of a notebook computer were shown both to impede keeping the optimal working posture in primary school children and increase the risk offormation of disorders of vision and musculoskeletal system. There were established the activating influence of the interactive whiteboard on performance activities and favorable dynamics of indices of the functional state of the organism of students under keeping optimal density of the academic study and the duration of its use. There are determined safety regulations of the work of schoolchildren with electronicresources in the educational process.

A picture archive and communications system (PACS) is a rich source of images and data suitable for creating electronic teaching files (ETF). However, the potential for PACS to support nonclinical applications has not been fully realized: at present there is no mechanism for PACS to identify and store teaching files; neither is there a standardized method for sharing such teaching images. The Medical Image Resource Center (MIRC) is a new central image repository that defines standards for data exchange among different centers. We developed an ETF server that retrieves digital imaging and communication in medicine (DICOM) images from PACS, and enables users to create teaching files that conform to the new MIRC schema. We test-populated our ETF server with illustrative images from the clinical case load of the National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore. Together, PACS and MIRC have the potential to benefit radiology teaching and research.

Full Text Available This research aims to study the pattern of the electronic human resources management (e-HRM of the hotel business in Phuket. The study is conducted with the implementation of field data and in-depth interview of hotels’ HR managers. In consequence, the study reveals that the hotel business has applied the use of the e-HRM varying in job recruitment (15 percent, employee engagement (55 percent, organizational file structure (10 percent, idea and creativity exchanges (38 percent and assessment system (6 percent. However, considered as 100 percent, the hotel business has not prepared to apply the use of the e-HRM in salary system, learning and training program, welfare allocation and career development.

Full Text Available The objective of this investigation was to determine the state of pandemic influenza preparedness and to delineate commonly reported challenges among a sample of larger US national maternity hospitals. This was done given the recent emphasis on hospital disaster planning and the disproportionate morbidity and mortality that pregnant women have suffered in previous influenza pandemics. An internet-based survey was sent to all 12 members of the Council of Women's and Infants' Specialty Hospitals. Questions addressed hospital demographics and overall pandemic preparedness planning, including presence of a pandemic planning committee and the existence of written plans addressing communications, surge capacity, degradation of services, and advance supply planning. Nine of 12 (75% hospitals responded. All had active pandemic planning committees with identified leadership. The majority (78% had written formal plans regarding back-up communications, surge/overflow capacity, and degradation of services. However, fewer (44% reported having written plans in place regarding supply-line/stockpiling of resources. The most common challenges noted were staff and supply coordination, ethical distribution of limited medical resources, and coordination with government agencies. In conclusion, the majority of the Council of Women's and Infants' Specialty Hospitals maternity hospitals have preliminary infrastructure for pandemic influenza planning, but many challenges exist to optimize maternal and fetal outcomes during the next influenza pandemic.

Pregnant and postpartum women have special needs during public health emergencies but often have inadequate levels of disaster preparedness. Thus, improving maternal emergency preparedness is a public health priority. More research is needed to identify the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches to how preparedness information is communicated to these women. A sample of web pages from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention intended to address the preparedness needs of pregnant and postpartum populations was examined for suitability for this audience. Five of the 7 web pages examined were considered adequate. One web page was considered not suitable and one the raters split between not suitable and adequate. None of the resources examined were considered superior. If these resources are considered some of the best available to pregnant and postpartum women, more work is needed to improve the suitability of educational resources, especially for audiences with low literacy and low incomes.

Developing countries have far fewer trained radiography professionals than developed countries, which exacerbates the limited access to imaging services. The lack of trained radiographers reflects, in part, limited availability of radiographer-specific educational resources. Historically, organizations that provided such resources in the developing world faced challenges related to the limited stock of current materials as well as expenses associated with shipping and delivery. Four mobile electronic devices (MEDs) were loaded with educational content (e-books, PDFs, and digital applications) spanning major radiography topics. The MEDs were distributed to 4 imaging departments in Ghana, India, Nepal, and Nigeria based on evidence of need for radiography-specific resources, as revealed by survey responses. A cost comparison of postal delivery vs digital delivery of educational content was performed. The effectiveness of delivering additional content via Wi-Fi transmission also was evaluated. Feedback was solicited on users' experience with the MEDs as a delivery tool for educational content. An initial average per e-book expense of $30.05, which included the cost of the device, was calculated for the MED delivery method compared with $15.56 for postal delivery of printed materials. The cost of the MED delivery method was reduced to an average of $10.05 for subsequent e-book deliveries. Additional content was successfully delivered via Wi-Fi transmission to all recipients during the 3-month follow-up period. Overall user feedback on the experience was positive, and ideas for enhancing the MED-based method were identified. Using MEDs to deliver radiography-specific educational content appears to be more cost effective than postal delivery of printed materials on a long-term basis. MEDs are more efficient for providing updates to educational materials. Customization of content to department needs, and using projector devices could enhance the usefulness of MEDs for

As we enter the 21st century the threats of biological warfare and bioterrorism (so called asymmetric threats) appear to be more real than ever before. Historical evidence suggests that biological weapons have been used, with varying degrees of success, for many centuries. Despite the international agreements to ban such weapons, namely the 1925 Geneva Protocol and the 1975 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, there is no effective international mechanism for challenging either the development of biological weapons or their use. Advances in technology and the rise of fundamentalist terror groups combine to present a significant threat to western democracies. A timely and definitive response to this threat will require co-operation between governments on a scale never seen before. There is a need for proper planning, good communication between various health, home office, defence and intelligence agencies and sufficient financial support for a realistic state of preparedness. The Department of Health has produced guidelines for responding to real or suspected incidents and the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) has produced detailed protocols to inform the actions required by microbiologists and consultants in communicable disease control. These protocols will be published on the Department of Health and PHLS web sites.

Annual plastic flows through the business and consumer electronics manufacturing supply chain include nearly 3 billion lb of high-value engineering plastics derived from petroleum. The recovery of resource value from this stream presents critical challenges in areas of materials identification and recycling process design that demand new green engineering technologies applied together with life cycle assessment and ecological supply chain analysis to create viable plastics-to-plastics supply cycles. The sustainable recovery of potentially high-value engineering plastics streams requires that recyclers either avoid mixing plastic parts or purify later by separating smaller plastic pieces created in volume reduction (shredding) steps. Identification and separation constitute significant barriers in the plastics-to-plastics recycling value proposition. In the present work, we develop a model that accepts randomly arriving electronic products to study scenarios by which a recycler might identify and separate high-value engineering plastics as well as metals. Using discrete eventsimulation,we compare current mixed plastics recovery with spectrochemical plastic resin identification and subsequent sorting. Our results show that limited disassembly with whole-part identification can produce substantial yields in separated streams of recovered engineering thermoplastics. We find that disassembly with identification does not constitute a bottleneck, but rather, with relatively few workers, can be configured to pull the process and thus decrease maximum staging space requirements.

Full Text Available Public health surveillance is undergoing a revolution driven by advances in the field of information technology. Many countries have experienced vast improvements in the collection, ingestion, analysis, visualization, and dissemination of public health data. Resource-limited countries have lagged behind due to challenges in information technology infrastructure, public health resources, and the costs of proprietary software. The Suite for Automated Global Electronic bioSurveillance (SAGES is a collection of modular, flexible, freely-available software tools for electronic disease surveillance in resource-limited settings. One or more SAGES tools may be used in concert with existing surveillance applications or the SAGES tools may be used en masse for an end-to-end biosurveillance capability. This flexibility allows for the development of an inexpensive, customized, and sustainable disease surveillance system. The ability to rapidly assess anomalous disease activity may lead to more efficient use of limited resources and better compliance with World Health Organization International Health Regulations.

This study examined statistical differences in levels of disaster preparedness between former members of the US Armed Forces (veterans) and civilians (nonveterans). It was hypothesized that veterans would exhibit a higher degree of disaster preparedness as compared to their nonveteran counterparts as a consequence of their training and life experience. Furthermore, if this were proven to be valid, the finding would identify this cohort as an ideal target audience for emergency and disaster preparedness education efforts. A four-page survey consisting principally of closed-ended questions about emergency preparedness was written to measure these differences. Most of the questions required respondents to rank their answers according to a five-step Likert Scale. The survey could be completed either in hard copy or online from September 2014 to January 2015. Ultimately, 113 surveys were returned for evaluation. Of those respondents, 62 were veterans and 51 were nonveterans. The responses were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance tests for statistical significance using the 95 percent confidence standard for each tested value. The results support that veterans are more prepared for domestic emergencies than nonveterans. In addition, veterans were more willing to provide leadership and direction to others in an effort to assist emergency managers in responding to domestic disasters. It is for these reasons that emergency managers should consider targeting veterans for disaster preparedness training to help ensure effective and efficient responses to emergencies.

Eager medical students may not be prepared for unanticipated complexities of disaster response. This study aimed to answer 2 questions: does an online disaster preparedness curriculum create a convenient method to educate medical students and motivate them to be better prepared to volunteer? An online disaster preparedness elective was created for medical students. Four modules were created using Softchalk and hosted on the Blackboard Learning Management System. Students completed embedded pre-elective, post-lesson, and post-elective surveys. Fifty-five students completed the elective. When posed with the statement, "I feel prepared for an emergency at the University or the immediate area," 70% stated that they disagreed or strongly disagreed before the elective. Subsequently, only 11% claimed to disagree after the elective. At the conclusion of the elective, 13% of students had prepared a personal emergency kit and 28% had prepared a family communication plan for reunification. Students were surveyed on the statement "I would like to be involved in a community disaster response while continuing my medical training." Ninety-four percent claimed to agree or strongly agree before the elective, and 93% stated the same after elective completion. This disaster preparedness elective was envisioned to be a resource for students. Advantages of online availability are ease of student access and minimal demand on faculty resources. A voluntary, self-paced online elective in disaster preparedness has shown to create a stronger interest in disaster participation in medical students. Student readiness to volunteer improved; however, willingness remained stagnant.

Radioactive nuclides present a potential health hazard due to the ionising radiation emitted during their decay. The release of large amounts of radioactive nuclides is of concern both for man and the environment. In cases of an accidental (or intentional) release, it is important with early warning systems and rapid methods to determine the extent and composition of the radioactive contamination. Many of the radionuclides released from a nuclear power plant accident or the detonation of a nuclear weapon can be determined by the use of gamma spectrometry. There are, however, some nuclides that are considered to be among the more hazardous that cannot be well determined by this technique, e.g. {sup 90}Sr and the actinides. The determination of these nuclides is usually very time consuming due to the need for their chemical separation prior to counting. Two methods developed for the determination of {sup 90}Sr and actinides in preparedness situations are described in this thesis. The determination of {sup 90}Sr is based on a rapid decomposition of inorganic sample matrixes by lithium-borate fusion and preconcentration of Sr by coprecipitation with calcium oxalate with HF acting as a hold-back carrier for silica. The separation of Sr is then performed by extraction chromatography and measurement by gas-flow proportional counting. The method for actinide-determination is based on collection of the elements from various kinds of sample-materials by the use of two different actinide selective resins. The sample is, in this way, pre concentrated and partially purified prior to the analysis with low-energy gamma spectrometry. Sample preparation by this method only requires 1.5 - 2.5 hours and the sensitivity is sufficient for many of the nuclides of interest. For those nuclides that require a more sensitive analytical finish, the actinides can be removed from the resin and processed further for, e.g., alpha spectrometric determinations.

Veterinarians play a unique role in emergency preparedness and response, and federal agencies and academic institutions therefore allocate considerable resources to provide training to enhance their readiness. However, the level of preparedness of veterinarians in many rural regions is yet to be improved. This article reports an assessment of the bioterrorism preparedness, specifically the experience and training needs, of rural veterinarians in North Texas. The study employed a cross-sectional design with a study population that included all veterinarians (N = 352) in the 37 counties within Texas Department of State Health Services Regions 2 and 3. Data on veterinarians practicing or residing in the target region were obtained from the Texas State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners. The response rate was 35% (n = 121). Results indicate that chemical exposure was the condition most frequently seen and treated, followed by botulism and anthrax. The majority (80%) of respondents indicated that they had not previously participated in training related to bioterrorism preparedness, and many (41%) also indicated a willingness to participate in a state health department-initiated bioterrorism response plan. However, only 18% were confident in their ability to diagnose and treat bioterrorism cases. These results suggest that many North Texas veterinarians practicing in rural regions could benefit from additional training in bioterrorism preparedness and response. An area in particular need of further training is the diagnosis and treatment of Category A agents. Federal, state, and local health agencies are urged to increase training opportunities and to make additional efforts to involve veterinarians in bioterrorism preparedness and response.

Some jurisdictions have reduced workforce and reallocated responsibilities for public health preparedness and emergency management to more efficiently use resources and improve planning and response. Key informant interviews were conducted in six counties in North Carolina (USA) to discuss perceptions of the challenges and opportunities provided by the new shared positions. Respondents feel that planning and response have improved, but that requirements related to activities or equipment that are eligible for funding (particularly on the public health side) can present an impediment to consolidating public health preparedness and emergency management roles. As the financial resources available for public health preparedness and emergency management continue to be reduced, the merging of the roles and responsibilities of public health preparedness and emergency management may present jurisdictions with an effective alternative to reducing staff, and potentially, readiness.

Full Text Available Some jurisdictions have reduced workforce and reallocated responsibilities for public health preparedness and emergency management to more efficiently use resources and improve planning and response. Key informant interviews were conducted in six counties in North Carolina (USA to discuss perceptions of the challenges and opportunities provided by the new shared positions. Respondents feel that planning and response have improved, but that requirements related to activities or equipment that are eligible for funding (particularly on the public health side can present an impediment to consolidating public health preparedness and emergency management roles. As the financial resources available for public health preparedness and emergency management continue to be reduced, the merging of the roles and responsibilities of public health preparedness and emergency management may present jurisdictions with an effective alternative to reducing staff, and potentially, readiness.

The study investigates the relationship between impact of electronicresources and its usage in academic libraries in Ghana: evidence from Koforidua Polytechnic & All Nations University College, Ghana. The study was a quantitative approach using questionnaire to gather data and information. A valid response rate of 58.5% was assumed. SPSS…

The study evaluated utilization of electronic information resources by undergraduates in the Faculties of Education and the Social Sciences in University of Ibadan. The study adopted a descriptive survey design with a study population of 1872 undergraduates in the Faculties of Education and the Social Sciences in University of Ibadan, from which a…

To assess how health department contextual factors influence perceptions of the 15 Public Health Preparedness Capabilities, developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide guidance on organizing preparedness activities. We conducted an online survey and focus group between September 2015 and May 2016 with directors of preparedness programs in state, metropolitan, and territorial jurisdictions funded by CDC's Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement. The survey collected demographic information and data on contextual factors including leadership, partnerships, organizational structure, resources and structural capacity, and data and evaluation. Seventy-seven percent (48 of 62) of PHEP directors completed the survey and 8 participated in the focus group. Respondents were experienced directors (mean = 10.6 years), and 58% led 7 or more emergency responses. Leadership, partnerships, and access to fiscal and human resources were associated with perception and use of the capabilities. Despite some deficiencies, PHEP awardees believe the capabilities provide useful guidance and a flexible framework for organizing their work. Contextual factors affect perceptions of the capabilities and possibly the effectiveness of their use. Public Health Implications. The capabilities can be used to address challenges in preparedness, including identifying evidence-based practices, developing performance measures, and improving responses.

Full Text Available The dynamics of level of physical preparedness of students is studied in the article. A tendency is marked to the decline of level of physical preparedness of students of 1-3 courses. Methodical recommendations are presented on the improvement of the system of organization of physical education of students of the Zaporizhzhya national university. The dynamics of indexes of physical preparedness of students 1, 2, 3 courses of different years of teaching is studied. Principal reasons of decline of level of physical preparedness of students are certain. There are recommendations the department of physical education in relation to physical preparedness of students.

The network of Centers for Public Health Preparedness (CPHP) was created by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in response to the perception that public health professionals were inadequately prepared to respond to terrorism incidents, natural disasters and similar major events. The events of September 11, 2001 and the subsequent anthrax attacks confirmed the wisdom of a concerted approach to emergency preparedness. This paper provides an outline of the network's recent activities as well as a review of the rationale, history and progress of the network to date. In the most recent grant cycle, each center was required to allocate 20 per cent of its resources to network-wide activities, including contribution of CPHP-developed materials to a central resource center maintained by the Association of Schools of Public Health. The materials are publicly available and are to be used in the development of training programs; the establishment of 19 or more exemplar groups that focus on specific preparedness-related knowledge domains such as mental health, educational evaluation methods and field epidemiology, who are also expected to develop tool kits of validated and fully described training materials for use by any CPHP person or group. The outcome of the CPHP network activities is the development of a more comprehensive and robust core of preparedness training materials that aim to facilitate rapid and effective training, while at the same time eliminating redundancy and duplication of effort. It was concluded that the expenditure of 20 per cent of center funds on network development activities is forcing the academically based CPHPs to adopt a new collaborative paradigm in order to ensure effective nationwide preparedness. 3 refs.

These guidelines help school nurses understand their role in preparing for disasters and major emergencies. The guidelines are suitable for planning for a variety of emergency and disaster situations. Disaster Preparedness Guidelines for School Nurses is based on the four phases of disaster management as defined by the Federal Emergency Management…

This past decade has recorded an increase in catastrophic events that have led to dramatic changes for Americans. The wake of these disasters has resulted in many lessons being learned. These lessons have been captured by Homeland Security in the First Edition of the National Preparedness Goal. Extension is uniquely positioned to assist with…

This podcast discusses the special concerns many older adults face during a disaster. It is primarily targeted to public health and aging services professionals. Created: 1/26/2009 by National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) and Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response (COTPER). Date Released: 1/26/2009.

The paper in this month's edition of the European Journal of Public Health on Europe's preparedness for an influenza pandemic is highly relevant in the light of the emergence of the influenza A (H5N1) virus in humans in Southeast Asia and more recently, in Turkey and Iraq. The paper provides a nic

Full Text Available Abstract Background The tuberculosis case register is the data source for the reports submitted by basic management units to the national tuberculosis program. Our objective was to measure the data entry time required to complete and double-enter one record, and to estimate the time for the correction of errors in the captured information from tuberculosis case registers in Cambodia and Viet Nam. This should assist in quantifying the additional requirements in human resources for national programs moving towards electronic recording and reporting. Methods Data from a representative sample of tuberculosis case registers from Cambodia and Viet Nam were double-entered and discordances resolved by rechecking the original case register. Computer-generated data entry time recorded the time elapsed between opening of a new record and saving it to disk. Results The dataset comprised 22,732 double-entered records of 11,366 patients (37.1% from Cambodia and 62.9% from Viet Nam. The mean data entry times per record were 97.5 (95% CI: 96.2-98.8 and 66.2 (95% CI: 59.5-73.0 seconds with medians of 90 and 31 s respectively in Cambodia and in Viet Nam. The percentage of records with an error was 6.0% and 39.0% respectively in Cambodia and Viet Nam. Data entry time was inversely associated with error frequency. We estimate that approximately 118-person-hours were required to produce 1,000 validated records. Conclusions This study quantifies differences between two countries for data entry time for the tuberculosis case register and frequencies of data entry errors and suggests that higher data entry speed is partially offset by requiring revisiting more records for corrections.

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to investigate the usage of electronic journals in Ferdowsi University, Iran based on e-metrics. The paper also aimed to emphasize the analysis of cost-benefit and the correlation between the journal impact factors and the usage data. In this study experiences of Ferdowsi University library on licensing and usage of electronicresources was evaluated by providing a cost-benefit analysis based on the cost and usage statistics of electronicresources. Vendor-provided data were also compared with local usage data. The usage data were collected by tracking web-based access locally, and by collecting vender-provided usage data. The data sources were one-year of vendor-supplied e-resource usage data such as Ebsco, Elsevier, Proquest, Emerald, Oxford and Springer and local usage data collected from the Ferdowsi university web server. The study found that actual usage values differ for vendor-provided data and local usage data. Elsevier has got the highest usage degree in searches, sessions and downloads. Statistics also showed that a small number of journals satisfy significant amount of use while the majority of journals were used less frequent and some were never used at all. The users preferred the PDF rather than HTML format. The data in subject profile suggested that the provided e-resources were best suited to certain subjects. There was no correlation between IF and electronic journal use. Monitoring the usage of e-resources gained increasing importance for acquisition policy and budget decisions. The article provided information about local metrics for the six surveyed vendors/publishers, e.g. usage trends, requests per package, cost per use as related to the scientific specialty of the university.

The GEO Energy Technology Department at Sandia National Laboratories is involved in several remote-site drilling and/or experimental operations each year. In 1987, the Geothermal Research Division of the Department developed a general set of Safe Operating Procedures (SOPs) that could be applied to a variety of projects. This general set is supplemented by site-specific SOPs as needed. Effective field operations require: integration of safety and emergency preparedness planning with overall project planning, training of field personnel and inventorying of local emergency support resources, and, developing a clear line of responsibility and authority to enforce the safety requirements. Copies of SOPs used in recent operations are included as examples of working documents for the reader.

Since the 2006 Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response Plan according to the World Health Organization's recommendation, the Republic of Korea has prepared and periodically evaluated the plan to respond to various public health crises including pandemic influenza. Korea has stockpiled 13,000,000 doses of antiviral drugs covering 26% of the Korean population and runs 519 isolated beds in 16 medical institutions. The division of public health crisis response in Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are in charge of responding to public health crises caused by emerging infectious diseases including severe acute respiratory syndrome, avian influenza human infection, and pandemic influenza. Its job description includes preparing for emerging infectious diseases, securing medical resources during a crisis, activating the emergency response during the crisis, and fortification of capabilities of public health personnel. It could evolve into a comprehensive national agency to deal with public health crisis based on the experience of previous national emerging infectious diseases.

As the number of people living at risk from volcanic hazards in the U.S. Pacific Northwest continues to rise, so does the need for improved hazard science, mitigation, and response planning. The effectiveness of these efforts relies not only on scientists and policymakers, but on individuals and their risk perception and preparedness levels. This study examines the individual knowledge, perception, and preparedness of over 500 survey respondents living or working within the lahar zones of Mount Baker and Glacier Peak volcanoes. We (1) explore the common disconnect between accurate risk perception and adequate preparedness; (2) determine how participation in hazard response planning influences knowledge, risk perception, and preparedness; and (3) assess the effectiveness of current lahar hazard maps for public risk communication. Results indicate that a disconnect exists between perception and preparedness for the majority of respondents. While 82% of respondents accurately anticipate that future volcanic hazards will impact the Skagit Valley, this knowledge fails to motivate increased preparedness. A majority of respondents also feel "very responsible" for their own protection and provision of resources during a hazardous event (83%) and believe they have the knowledge and skills necessary to respond effectively to such an event (56%); however, many of these individuals still do not adequately prepare. When asked what barriers prevent them from preparing, respondents primarily cite a lack of knowledge about relevant local hazards. Results show that participation in response-related activities—a commonly recommended solution to this disconnect—minimally influences preparedness. Additionally, although local hazard maps successfully communicate the primary hazard—97% of respondents recognize the lahar hazard—many individuals incorrectly interpret other important facets of the maps. Those who participate in response-related activities fail to understand these

The co-location of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center (PERLC) and the UNC Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center (PERRC) and other smaller projects within the North Carolina Institute for Public Health, a public health practice-oriented unit of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, facilitated many successful collaborations. By sharing personnel, space, and other resources, the UNC PERLC and PERRC and other projects were able to meet the needs of the public health workforce by developing evidence-based training programs and tools around topics including epidemiology, surveillance, and vulnerable populations.

Careful planning and management strategies are essential for disaster preparedness and prevention and to the implementation of responses strategies when emergencies do occur. Disasters related to climate and weather extremes, such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, blizzards, droughts, and tornadoes may have a period for watching and warning within which emergency preparedness measures can be taken to reduce risk to population and critical infrastructures. The ability to effectively address emergency preparedness and response operations is dependent upon a strong global spatial data infrastructure, and geospatial modeling and simulation capabilities that can complement the decision making process at various stages of disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. It is well understood that a strong linkage between data and analytical capabilities are nucleus to effective decision making ability and that disaster consequence management organizations should have access to the best available geospatial technical expertise, global and regional data sets, and modeling and analytical tools. However, such optimal combination of data assets and modeling expertise are often beyond the resources available internally within a single organization but can be accessed through external collaboration with other "Earth science community-of-practice" organizations. This provides an opportunity to develop a solutions network for disaster preparedness and response. However, our current capability and state of general practice in disaster consequence management is, for the most part, built around such networks that are not very well defined, often formed on an ad-hoc basis soon after a disaster, loosely coupled, and functions at less than desirable pace. We will illustrate this concept of a solutions network through the current functions of the Visualization and Modeling Working Group (VMWG) of the Department of Energy, to which multiple national laboratories and other federal agencies

Full Text Available The present study aims to explore the use and user perception of electronicresources in Siva Institute of Frontier Technology, India. A total number of 123 users were taken into account for the study through a questionnaire-based survey method. A well-structured questionnaire was designed and distributed to the selected 200 students and staff members. 123 copies of the questionnaires were returned dully filled in and the overall response rate was 61.50 percent. The questionnaire contained both open- and close-ended questions. The collected data were classified, analyzed, and tabulated by using simple statistical methods. This study covers the impact of electronicresources on students and faculty in their academic pursuit.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a large concern for many companies with the rise of globalization. Oftentimes, companies are encouraged to communicate CSR externally, but not internally. This research focuses upon the internal communication of CSR, specifically how Human Resource (HR) professionals use electronic channels to communicate to employees. The scope of this research is focused solely upon HR professionals within Solvay’s French industrial sites, which produce chemi...

Full Text Available Abstract Background Infectious disease surveillance is a primary public health function in resource-limited settings. In 2003, an electronic disease surveillance system (Alerta was established in the Peruvian Navy with support from the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center Detachment (NMRCD. Many challenges arose during the implementation process, and a variety of solutions were applied. The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss these issues. Methods This is a retrospective description of the Alerta implementation. After a thoughtful evaluation according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC guidelines, the main challenges to implementation were identified and solutions were devised in the context of a resource-limited setting, Peru. Results After four years of operation, we have identified a number of challenges in implementing and operating this electronic disease surveillance system. These can be divided into the following categories: (1 issues with personnel and stakeholders; (2 issues with resources in a developing setting; (3 issues with processes involved in the collection of data and operation of the system; and (4 issues with organization at the central hub. Some of the challenges are unique to resource-limited settings, but many are applicable for any surveillance system. For each of these challenges, we developed feasible solutions that are discussed. Conclusion There are many challenges to overcome when implementing an electronic disease surveillance system, not only related to technology issues. A comprehensive approach is required for success, including: technical support, personnel management, effective training, and cultural sensitivity in order to assure the effective deployment of an electronic disease surveillance system.

Recovery of resources, in particular, metals, from waste flows is widely seen as a prioritized option to reduce their potential supply constraints in the future. The current waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) treatment system is more focused on bulk metals, where the recycling rate of specialty metals, such as rare earths, is negligible compared to their increasing use in modern products, such as electronics. This study investigates the challenges in recovering these resources in the existing WEEE treatment system. It is illustrated by following the material flows of resources in a conventional WEEE treatment plant in Denmark. Computer hard disk drives (HDDs) containing neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets were selected as the case product for this experiment. The resulting output fractions were tracked until their final treatment in order to estimate the recovery potential of rare earth elements (REEs) and other resources contained in HDDs. The results further show that out of the 244 kg of HDDs treated, 212 kg comprising mainly of aluminum and steel can be finally recovered from the metallurgic process. The results further demonstrate the complete loss of REEs in the existing shredding-based WEEE treatment processes. Dismantling and separate processing of NdFeB magnets from their end-use products can be a more preferred option over shredding. However, it remains a technological and logistic challenge for the existing system.

Object of research is the help information resource "The chronicle of the Odessa national university of I. I. Mechnikov: dates, facts, events". The main objective of our article – to state the main methodological bases of creation of information resource. One of advantages of information resource is possibility of continuous updating and replenishment by new information. Main objective of creation of this information resource is systematization of material on stories of the Odessa national university of I. I. Mechnikov from the date of his basis to the present, ensuring interactive access to information on the main dates, the most significant events in life of university. The base of research are sources on the history of university, chronology of historical development, formation of infrastructure, cadres and scientific researches. In information resource the main stages of development, functioning and transformation of the Odessa University are analyzed, information on its divisions is collected. For creation of this information resource in Scientific library the method of work was developed, the main selection criteria of data are allocated. This information resource have practical value for all who is interested in history of university, historians, scientists-researchers of history of science and the city of Odessa.

Full Text Available - This study determined the effectiveness of Disaster Risk Reduction Preparedness of Iloilo Province, Philippines in the areas of Dissemination, Implementation, and Resource Utilization and Operation as evaluated by the 390 citizens of the ten (10 selected municipalities from the five (5 Congressional Districts in the Province of Iloilo, Philippines. This descriptive method of research employed researcher-made instruments and random interviews. Descriptive statistics used were the mean and standard deviation while inferential statistics employed Ttest for independent samples and one-way analysis for variance set at .05 level of significances. Findings revealed that Disaster Risk Reduction Preparedness of Iloilo Province, Philippines is “more effective” in terms of dissemination, implementation, and resource utilization and operation according to the assessment of the 390 respondents of the ten (10 selected municipalities from the five (5 Congressional Districts when they were grouped as to personal variables. Finally, the findings revealed that three (3 out of ten (10 municipalities were very effective and among the five (5 districts, first district was very effective as to dissemination and resource utilization and operation of their respective Disaster Risk Reduction Preparedness Program but as a whole, Iloilo Province was more effective in its Disaster Risk Reduction Preparedness.

During the last decade, most European countries have produced risk maps of natural hazards, but little is known about how to communicate these maps most effectively to the public. In October 2011, Zurich's local authorities informed owners of buildings located in the urban flood hazard area about potential flood damage, the probability of flood events and protection measures. The campaign was based on the assumptions that informing citizens increases their risk awareness and that citizens who are aware of risks are more likely to undertake appropriate actions to protect themselves and their property. This study is intended as a contribution to a better understanding the factors influencing flood risk preparedness, with a special focus on the effects of such a one-way risk communication strategy. We conducted a standardized mail survey of 1500 property owners in the hazard areas in Zurich. The questionnaire comprised items measuring respondents' risk awareness, risk preparedness, flood experience, information seeking behaviour, knowledge about flood risk, evaluation of the information material, risk acceptance, kind of property owned, attachment to the property, trust in local authorities, and socio-demographic variables. Multivariate data analysis revealed that the average level of risk awareness and preparedness was low, but our results confirmed that the campaign had a statistically significant effect on the level of preparedness. The main factors influencing the respondents' intention to prepare for a flood were the extent to which they evaluated the information material positively and their risk awareness. Those who had never taken any interest in floods previously were less likely to read the material. For future campaigns, we therefore recommend repeated communication of relevant information tailored to the needs of the target population.

During the last decade, most European countries have produced hazard maps of natural hazards, but little is known about how to communicate these maps most efficiently to the public. In October 2011, Zurich's local authorities informed owners of buildings located in the urban flood hazard zone about potential flood damage, the probability of flood events and protection measures. The campaign was based on the assumptions that informing citizens increases their risk awareness and that citizens who are aware of risks are more likely to undertake actions to protect themselves and their property. This study is intended as a contribution to better understand the factors that influence flood risk preparedness, with a special focus on the effects of such a one-way risk communication strategy. We conducted a standardized mail survey of 1500 property owners in the hazard zones in Zurich (response rate main survey: 34 %). The questionnaire included items to measure respondents' risk awareness, risk preparedness, flood experience, information-seeking behaviour, knowledge about flood risk, evaluation of the information material, risk acceptance, attachment to the property and trust in local authorities. Data about the type of property and socio-demographic variables were also collected. Multivariate data analysis revealed that the average level of risk awareness and preparedness was low, but the results confirmed that the campaign had a statistically significant effect on the level of preparedness. The main influencing factors on the intention to prepare for a flood were the extent to which respondents evaluated the information material positively as well as their risk awareness. Respondents who had never taken any previous interest in floods were less likely to read the material. For future campaigns, we therefore recommend repeated communication that is tailored to the information needs of the target population.

Despite the events that occurred at the 2013 Boston Marathon (Boston, Massachusetts USA), there are currently no evidence-based guidelines or published data regarding medical and disaster preparedness of marathon races in the United States. Purpose To determine the current state of medical disaster preparedness of marathons in the US and to identify potential areas for improvement. A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted from January through May of 2014. The questionnaire was distributed to race directors of US road and trail marathons, as identified by a comprehensive internet database. One hundred twenty-three questionnaires were available for analysis (19% usable response rate). Marathon races from all major regions of the US were represented. Runner medical information was not listed on race bibs in 53% of races. Only 45% of races held group training and planning sessions prior to race day. Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) were immediately available on 50% of courses, and medications such as albuterol (30%), oxygen (33%), and IV fluids (34%) were available less frequently. Regarding medical emergencies, 55% of races did not have protocols for the assessment of dehydration, asthma, chest pain, syncope, or exercise-induced cramping. With regard to disaster preparedness, 50% of races did not have protocols for the management of disasters, and 21% did not provide security personnel at start/finish lines, aid stations, road crossings, and drop bag locations. Areas for improvement in the preparedness of US marathons were identified, such as including printed medical information on race bibs, increasing pre-race training and planning sessions for volunteers, ensuring the immediate availability of certain emergency equipment and medications, and developing written protocols for specific emergencies and disasters.

Electronicresources are increasingly used in medical practice. Their use during high-stakes certification examinations has been advocated by many experts, but whether doing so would affect the capacity to differentiate between high and low abilities is unknown. To determine the effect of electronicresources on examination performance characteristics. Randomized controlled trial. Medical certification program. 825 physicians initially certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) who passed the Internal Medicine Certification examination or sat for the Internal Medicine Maintenance of Certification (IM-MOC) examination in 2012 to 2015. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions: closed book using typical or additional time, or open book (that is, UpToDate [Wolters Kluwer]) using typical or additional time. All participants took the same modified version of the IM-MOC examination. Primary outcomes included item difficulty (how easy or difficult the question was), item discrimination (how well the question differentiated between high and low abilities), and average question response time. Secondary outcomes included examination dimensionality (that is, the number of factors measured) and test-taking strategy. Item response theory was used to calculate question characteristics. Analysis of variance compared differences among conditions. Closed-book conditions took significantly less time than open-book conditions (mean, 79.2 seconds [95% CI, 78.5 to 79.9 seconds] vs. 110.3 seconds [CI, 109.2 to 111.4 seconds] per question). Mean discrimination was statistically significantly higher for open-book conditions (0.34 [CI, 0.32 to 0.35] vs. 0.39 [CI, 0.37 to 0.41] per question). A strong single dimension showed that the examination measured the same factor with or without the resource. Only 1 electronicresource was evaluated. Inclusion of an electronicresource with time constraints did not adversely affect test performance and did not change

Numerous institutional facilitators and barriers to preparedness planning exist at the local level for vulnerable and at-risk populations. Findings of this evaluation study contribute to ongoing practice-based efforts to improve response services and address public health preparedness planning and training as they relate to vulnerable and at-risk populations. From January 2012 through June 2013, we conducted a multilevel, mixed-methods evaluation study of the North Carolina Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center's Vulnerable & At-Risk Populations Resource Guide, an online tool to aid local health departments' (LHDs') preparedness planning efforts. We examined planning practices across multiple local, regional, and state jurisdictions utilizing user data, follow-up surveys, and secondary data. To identify potential incongruities in planning, we compared respondents' reported populations of interest with corresponding census data to determine whether or not there were differences in planning priorities. We used data collected from evaluation surveys to identify key institutional facilitators and barriers associated with planning for at-risk populations, including challenges to conducting assessments and lack of resources. Results identified both barriers within institutional culture and disconnects between planning priorities and evidence-based identification of vulnerable and at-risk populations, including variation in the planning process, partnerships, and perceptions. Our results highlight the important role of LHDs in preparedness planning and the potential implications associated with organizational and bureaucratic impediments to planning implementation. A more in-depth understanding of the relationships among public institutions and the levels of preparedness that contribute to the conditions and processes that generate vulnerability is needed.

This study extended the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by examining the roles of two aspects of e-resource characteristics, namely, information quality and system quality, in predicting public health students' intention to use e-resources for completing research paper assignments. Both focus groups and a questionnaire were used to collect data. Descriptive analysis, data screening, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques were used for data analysis. The study found that perceived usefulness played a major role in determining students' intention to use e-resources. Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use fully mediated the impact that information quality and system quality had on behavior intention. The research model enriches the existing technology acceptance literature by extending TAM. Representing two aspects of e-resource characteristics provides greater explanatory information for diagnosing problems of system design, development, and implementation.

Full Text Available The dynamics of level of functional preparedness of young handballers in setup time is shown. It was foreseen to make alteration in educational-training process with the purpose of optimization of their functional preparedness. 11 youths were plugged in research, calendar age 14 - 15 years. For determination of level of their functional preparedness the computer program "SVSM" was applied. It is set that at the beginning of setup time of 18,18% of all respondent functional preparedness is characterized by a "middle" level, 27,27% - below the "average", 54,54% - "above" the average. At the end of setup time among sportsmen representatives prevailed with the level of functional preparedness "above" average - 63,63%, with level "high" - 27,27%, sportsmen with level below the average were not observed. Efficiency of the offered system of trainings employments for optimization of functional preparedness of young handballers is well-proven.

There is an extensive body of research on the determinants of disaster preparedness at the individual and household levels. The same cannot be said for the organizational level. Hence, the purpose of this study is to shed light on the predictors of organizational preparedness for natural disasters. Since leaders of organizations have an incentive to overstate their level of preparedness and because surveys of organizational leaders suffer from selection bias and low response rates, we take the novel approach of interviewing employees about the organizations that employ them. Using an online survey, we collected information from a national sample of 2,008 U.S. employees and estimated the predictors of preparedness at the organizational level. We find, among other results, that organization size (facility level) is a consistent predictor of preparedness at the organizational level. We conclude with policy recommendations and outline an agenda for future research on organizational preparedness for natural disasters.

Compared to its long history on disastrous earthquakes, disaster education history in Turkey is rather short. It has just started with an initiative of Disaster Preparedness Education Unit of Bogazici University (BU/DPEU) after 1999 Kocaeli Earthquake. Training modules and materials on disaster preparedness were prepared both for students, teachers and community. Regarding to the school education, the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) reformed their education plan in 2003, and disaster education became one of eight focused components for primary-middle education. In 2011-2014 MoNE had conducted "School-based Disaster Education Project" in collaboration with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The majority of the school education materials focus more on earthquake and there are very few education programs on tsunami. Within the MarDiM (Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster Mitigation in the Marmara Region and Disaster Education in Turkey) project between Turkey and Japan a multidisciplinary engineering research as well as development of disaster education, tsunami education booklet and video were newly developed in 2015. In order to investigate students' knowledge natural disasters and disaster preparedness with focus on tsunami, a questionnaire based survey was conducted. The survey aims to clarify following questions: 1) how students obtain natural disaster information, 2) how students prepare for natural disaster, 3) knowledge on tsunami (hazard mechanism, evacuation behavior, historical disaster). The study was conducted by BU/DPEU in 2015 and 375 students answered the questionnaire. Results showed that students have more interest on earthquake, flood, tsunami and landslide followed it. Most students have heard about tsunami and the school is a key resource of their information. They know relatively well about tsunami mechanism, however, they have less knowledge on tsunami evacuation behavior and tsunami history in Turkey. In order to let students have

This paper discusses and presents a comparative case study of two libraries in Pune, India, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics and Information Centre and Library of National Institute of Virology (Indian Council of Medical Research). It compares how both libraries have managed their e-resource collections, including acquisitions, subscriptions, and consortia arrangements, while also developing a collection of their own resources, including pre-prints and publications, video lectures, and other materials in an institutional repository. This study illustrates how difficult it is to manage electronicresources in a developing country like India, even though electronicresources are used more than print resources. Electronicresource management can be daunting, but with a systematic approach, various problems can be solved, and use of the materials will be enhanced.

On December 15, 2003, the Centers for Public Health Preparedness at the University of Minnesota and the University of Iowa convened the “Public Health and Terrorism Preparedness: Cross-Border Issues Roundtable.” The purpose of the roundtable was to gather public health professionals and government agency representatives at the state, provincial, and local levels to identify unmet cross-border emergency preparedness and response needs and develop strategies for addressing these needs. Represen...

The purpose of this project was to measure trauma nurse improvement in familiarity with emergency preparedness and disaster response core competencies as originally defined by the Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire after a focused educational program. An adapted version of the Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire was utilized to measure familiarity of nurses with core competencies pertinent to first responder capabilities. This project utilized a pre- and postsurvey descriptive design and integrated education sessions into the preexisting, mandatory "Trauma Nurse Course" at large, level I trauma center. A total of 63 nurses completed the intervention during May and September 2014 sessions. Overall, all 8 competencies demonstrated significant (P < .001; 98% confidence interval) improvements in familiarity. In conclusion, this pilot quality improvement project demonstrated a unique approach to educating nurses to be more ready and comfortable when treating victims of a disaster.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to quantify the use of electronic journals in comparison with the print collections in the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University Library. Design/methodology/approach: A detailed analysis was made of the use of lending services, the Xerox facility and usage of electronic journals such as Science Direct,…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to quantify the use of electronic journals in comparison with the print collections in the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University Library. Design/methodology/approach: A detailed analysis was made of the use of lending services, the Xerox facility and usage of electronic journals such as Science Direct,…

deliveries per hospital ranged from 893 to 44 256 for 2013 - 2014, with a total of 201 314 births and 70 095 caesarean ... events, such as near-misses (women who survived life-threatening ... A health system is made up of staff, funding, supplies, transport, ... are served by 18 government hospitals with maternity units, and.

Sufficient preparedness is important for transitions to workplace participation and learning in clinical settings. This study aims to analyse medical students' preparedness for early clerkships using a three-dimensional, socio-cognitive, theory-based model of preparedness anchored in specific professional activities and their supervision level. Medical students from a competency-based undergraduate curriculum were surveyed about preparedness for 21 professional activities and level of perceived supervision during their early clerkships via an online questionnaire. Preparedness was operationalized by the three dimensions of confidence to carry out clerkship activities, being prepared through university teaching and coping with failure by seeking support. Factors influencing preparedness and perceived stress as outcomes were analysed through step-wise regression. Professional activities carried out by the students (n = 147; 19.0%) and their supervision levels varied. While most students reported high confidence to perform the tasks, the activity-specific analysis revealed important gaps in preparation through university teaching. Students regularly searched for support in case of difficulty. One quarter of the variance of each preparedness dimension was explained by self-efficacy, supervision quality, amount of prior clerkship experience and nature of professional activities. Preparedness contributed to predicting perceived stress. The applied three-dimensional concept of preparedness and the task-specific approach provided a detailed and meaningful view on medical students' workplace participation and experiences in early clerkships.

The United Kingdom uses the Defence Lines of Development (DLOD) framework to analyse and understand the key components and costs of a military capability. Rooted in the Resource Based View (RBV) of a firm, an adapted DLOD approach is employed to explore, analyse and discuss the preparedness, planning and response strategies of two markedly different countries (Australia and Bangladesh) when faced with a major cyclone event of a comparable size. Given the numerous similarities in the challenges facing military forces in a complex emergency and humanitarian agencies in a natural disaster, the paper demonstrates the applicability of the DLOD framework as an analysis and planning tool in the cyclone preparedness planning and response phases, and more broadly within the disaster management area. In addition, the paper highlights the benefit to disaster managers, policymakers and researchers of exploiting comparative cross-learning opportunities from disaster events, drawn from different sectors and countries.

Following up a previous study that examined public health students' intention to use e-resources for completing research paper assignments, the present study proposed two models to investigate whether or not public health students actually used the e-resources they intended to use and whether or not the determinants of intention to use predict actual use of e-resources. Focus groups and pre- and post-questionnaires were used to collect data. Descriptive analysis, data screening, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques were used for data analysis. The study found that the determinants of intention-to-use significantly predict actual use behavior. Direct impact of perceived usefulness and indirect impact of perceived ease of use to both behavior intention and actual behavior indicated the importance of ease of use at the early stage of technology acceptance. Non-significant intention-behavior relationship prompted thoughts on the measurement of actual behavior and multidimensional characteristics of the intention construct.

Familiarize students affiliated with the Student National Medical Association with the National Library of Medicine's online resources that address medical conditions, health disparities, and public health preparedness needs.

This paper describes a hypermedia resource, called MendelWeb that integrates elementary biology, discrete mathematics, and the history of science. MendelWeb is constructed from Gregor Menders 1865 paper, "Experiments in Plant Hybridization". An English translation of Mendel's paper, which is considered to mark the birth of classical and…

As part of a focused, methodical, and evaluative approach to emerging technologies, QR codes are one of many new technologies being used by the UC Irvine Libraries. QR codes provide simple connections between print and virtual resources. In summer 2010, a small task force began to investigate how QR codes could be used to provide information and…

Electronic information is becoming prevalent worldwide, and its use is growing exponentially as more and more users are recognizing the potential that it offers in terms of access and delivery. However, with the introduction of new tools for e-information searching and retrieval, users have to readjust their information-seeking behavior to cope with the corresponding changes. The University of Sharjah library is steadily increasing its investment in e-resources to offer ubiquitous access to the growing body of literature in areas that interest the community it serves. This study reports the findings of a survey conducted to investigate the information-seeking behavior of medical students at the medical library. Results showed evidence of use of e-resources, but they did not explicitly establish that some of the major problems mentioned by participants did hinder the information searches of the respondents. An extensive literature review sets the background for the study.

Disaster preparedness is an important preventive strategy for protecting health and mitigating adverse health effects of unforeseen disasters. A multi-site based ethnic minority project (2009-2015) is set up to examine health and disaster preparedness related issues in remote, rural, disaster prone communities in China. The primary objective of this reported study is to examine if previous disaster experience significantly increases household disaster preparedness levels in remote villages in China. A cross-sectional, household survey was conducted in January 2011 in Gansu Province, in a predominately Hui minority-based village. Factors related to disaster preparedness were explored using quantitative methods. Two focus groups were also conducted to provide additional contextual explanations to the quantitative findings of this study. The village household response rate was 62.4 % (n = 133). Although previous disaster exposure was significantly associated with perception of living in a high disaster risk area (OR = 6.16), only 10.7 % households possessed a disaster emergency kit. Of note, for households with members who had non-communicable diseases, 9.6 % had prepared extra medications to sustain clinical management of their chronic conditions. This is the first study that examined disaster preparedness in an ethnic minority population in remote communities in rural China. Our results indicate the need of disaster mitigation education to promote preparedness in remote, resource-poor communities.

This paper discusses utilization effect of electronic information resources combining with the characteristics of electronic information resources, makes evaluation system of library electronic information resource utilization effect from three aspects ： the library, the users and the data providers, hoping for providing valuable reference for the efficient use of library electronicresources.%本文结合电子信息资源的特性对电子信息资源的利用进行初步探讨，从图书馆、用户和数据服务商三个角度构建图书馆电子信息资源利用效果的评价体系，希望能为图书馆电子信息资源的高效利用提供参考。

An increasing number of professional organizations and foundations have surveyed components of the United States readiness programs concerning preparedness for terrorist attacks. This paper reviews the results of research conducted in 2002 and compares them with subsequent studies, demonstrating a gap between desired and current states of readiness. Weaknesses at the local, federal and state levels were discussed. Results from local needs and preparedness surveys were examined, including details and summaries of surveys sent to representatives within all states and territories. Significant gaps still remained in protecting the public from biological and chemical attacks. Cut-backs and a lack of resources were identified as contributing to a lack of local preparedness. In addition, emergency responders were not receiving appropriate training. An independent task force reported that less than 10 per cent of fire departments in the United States had the resources, training and equipment needed to respond to a building collapse. It was noted that less than one-quarter of the United States are able to respond 24 hours a day to reports from hospitals of possible victims of biological or chemical attacks. Bioterrorism preparedness still lacks strategic direction, well-defined priorities and appropriate levels of resources to match needs. In addition, although facilities have been identified as risk management program sites, local responders remain unprepared for threats and many local fire and police departments have not been informed of specific plant hazards or information regarding exact chemical hazards. It was concluded that as the United States approaches its fourth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, there is is much yet to be done to improve the level of preparedness in cities and towns across the country. 31 refs., 2 tabs.

Full Text Available Context Over the past decade the number of accidents and disasters has been growing around the world. In addition to damaging communities and infrastructures, unexpected disasters also affect service providers. This study aimed to evaluate the readiness of hospitals when confronted with unexpected disasters. Evidence Acquisition The present study was a simple review article, which was conducted via searching different sites, such as: Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct and PubMed, using different key words such as: Disasters, Crisis, Hospital and preparedness. The relationship between the articles found in relation to our subject was investigated through the title and abstract of articles. The relationship between the articles, which were found in relation to our subject, was investigated through the title and abstract of the articles. Our search included papers published during the period between 2007 and 2015 and we only considered studies that measured the preparedness of hospitals in critical conditions. Among the 30 articles, which were found, 17 were excluded from the study due to lack of relevant data. Hence, 15 papers, which were of proper design and robust data analysis, were included in the current study. Results Hospital preparedness in disaster was evaluated in three dimensions: structural, non-structural factors and vulnerability management performance. A total of readiness of hospitals in three dimensions was mediocre. Conclusions Overall, the results derived from these studies indicated that hospital safety levels in most of the surveyed hospitals were moderate. Although the situation in hospitals is not critical, there is a need to plan and take appropriate measures to improve the safety level of the hospitals.

Health insurance plans serve a critical role in public health emergencies, yet little has been published about their collective emergency preparedness practices and policies. We evaluated, on a national scale, the state of health insurance plans' emergency preparedness and policies. A survey of health insurance plans. We queried members of America's Health Insurance Plans, the national trade association representing the health insurance industry, about issues related to emergency preparedness issues: infrastructure, adaptability, connectedness, and best practices. Of 137 health insurance plans queried, 63% responded, representing 190.6 million members and 81% of US plan enrollment. All respondents had emergency plans for business continuity, and most (85%) had infrastructure for emergency teams. Some health plans also have established benchmarks for preparedness (eg, response time). Regarding adaptability, 85% had protocols to extend claim filing time and 71% could temporarily suspend prior medical authorization rules. Regarding connectedness, many plans shared their contingency plans with health officials, but often cited challenges in identifying regulatory agency contacts. Some health insurance plans had specific policies for assisting individuals dependent on durable medical equipment or home healthcare. Many plans (60%) expressed interest in sharing best practices. Health insurance plans are prioritizing emergency preparedness. We identified 6 policy modifications that health insurance plans could undertake to potentially improve healthcare system preparedness: establishing metrics and benchmarks for emergency preparedness; identifying disaster-specific policy modifications, enhancing stakeholder connectedness, considering digital strategies to enhance communication, improving support and access for special-needs individuals, and developing regular forums for knowledge exchange about emergency preparedness.

The nonrandom distribution of fears is not as clearly related to phylogenetically survival relevance as preparedness theory seems to imply. Although delayed extinction reflects some of the best human evidence for preparedness, even this phenomenon is not as robust as it once seemed to be. Apart from

Crises, whether human or natural, occur on all college campuses. Extensive research has been conducted on crisis preparedness at four-year, nondenominational institutions. This study examined crisis preparedness at Christian institutions of higher education. The study examined the perspectives of presidents of Christian institutions of higher…

A Technology Preparedness and Status Report is required for each Technical Task Plan funded by the Buried Waste Integrated Demonstration. This document provides guidance for the preparation of that report. Major sections of the report will include a subset of the need for the technology, objectives of the demonstration, technology description and readiness evaluation, demonstration requirements, and preparedness checklist and action plan.

Full Text Available Abstract Emergency management organisations recognise the vulnerability of infants in emergencies, even in developed countries. However, thus far, those who care for infants have not been provided with detailed information on what emergency preparedness entails. Emergency management authorities should provide those who care for infants with accurate and detailed information on the supplies necessary to care for them in an emergency, distinguishing between the needs of breastfed infants and the needs of formula fed infants. Those who care for formula fed infants should be provided with detailed information on the supplies necessary for an emergency preparedness kit and with information on how to prepare formula feeds in an emergency. An emergency preparedness kit for exclusively breastfed infants should include 100 nappies and 200 nappy wipes. The contents of an emergency preparedness for formula fed infants will vary depending upon whether ready-to-use liquid infant formula or powdered infant formula is used. If ready-to-use liquid infant formula is used, an emergency kit should include: 56 serves of ready-to-use liquid infant formula, 84 L water, storage container, metal knife, small bowl, 56 feeding bottles and teats/cups, 56 zip-lock plastic bags, 220 paper towels, detergent, 120 antiseptic wipes, 100 nappies and 200 nappy wipes. If powdered infant formula is used, an emergency preparedness kit should include: two 900 g tins powdered infant formula, 170 L drinking water, storage container, large cooking pot with lid, kettle, gas stove, box of matches/lighter, 14 kg liquid petroleum gas, measuring container, metal knife, metal tongs, feeding cup, 300 large sheets paper towel, detergent, 100 nappies and 200 nappy wipes. Great care with regards hygiene should be taken in the preparation of formula feeds. Child protection organisations should ensure that foster carers responsible for infants have the resources necessary to formula feed in the

An Exploratory study on KAUST library use of LibAnswers in resolving electronicresources questions received in LibAnswers. It describes the findings of the questions received in LibAnswers. The author made suggestions based on the findings to improve the reference services in responding to e-resources questions.

This paper describes an electronic guidebook, "Sotto Voce," that enables visitors to share audio information by eavesdropping on each others guidebook activity. The first section discusses the design and implementation of the guidebook device, key aspects of its user interface, the design goals for the audio environment, the eavesdropping…

In April 2007, the University of Washington Libraries debuted WorldCat Local (WCL), a localized version of the WorldCat database that interoperates with a library's integrated library system and fulfillment services to provide a single-search interface for a library's physical and electronic content. This brief will describe how WCL incorporates a…

Provides an overview of the current state of networking technology in rural libraries and describes a model for educating rural librarians in accessing electronic networks. Topics discussed include information needs in rural libraries; telecommunications technology access in rural areas; and examples of services to enhance information access.…

This study was conducted to measure the relationship between community resilience elements (community education, community engagement, community leadership) and community preparedness using questionnaires gathered from 318 samples of the Bukit Antarabangsa community at Ampang Jaya Municipal in Malaysia. The outcomes of SmartPLS path model showed three important findings: firstly, community education significantly correlated with community preparedness. Second, community engagement significantly correlated with community preparedness. Third, community leadership significantly correlated with community preparedness. Statistically, this result confirms that the implementation of community resilience elements such as community education, community engagement, and community leadership act as an important determinant of community preparedness towards disasters in the studied community area sample. In addition, discussion, implications and conclusion are elaborated.

Full Text Available This paper aims to determine the preference and use of electronic information and resources by blind/visually impaired users in the leading National Capital Region (NCR libraries of India. Survey methodology has been used as the basic research tool for data collection with the help of questionnaires. The 125 in total users surveyed in all the five libraries were selected randomly on the basis of willingness of the users with experience of working in digital environments to participate in the survey. The survey results were tabulated and analyzed with descriptive statistics methods using Excel software and 'Stata version 11'. The findings reveal that ICT have a positive impact in the lives of people with disabilities as it helps them to work independently and increases the level of confidence among them. The Internet is the most preferred medium of access to information among the majority of blind/visually impaired users. The 'Complexity of content available on the net' is found as the major challenge faced during Internet use by blind users of NCR libraries. 'Audio books on CDs/DVDs and DAISY books' are the most preferred electronicresources among the majority of blind/visually impaired users. This study will help the library professionals and organizations/institutions serving people with disabilities to develop effective library services for blind/visually impaired users in the digital environment on the basis of findings on information usage behavior in the study.

Transfusion support is a key enabler to the response to mass casualty events (MCEs). Transfusion demand and capability planning should be an integrated part of the medical planning process for emergency system preparedness. Historical reviews have recently supported demand planning for MCEs and mass gatherings; however, computer modeling offers greater insights for resource management. The challenge remains balancing demand and supply especially the demand for universal components such as group O red blood cells. The current prehospital and hospital capability has benefited from investment in the management of massive hemorrhage. The management of massive hemorrhage should address both hemorrhage control and hemostatic support. Labile blood components cannot be stockpiled and a large surge in demand is a challenge for transfusion providers. The use of blood components may need to be triaged and demand managed. Two contrasting models of transfusion planning for MCEs are described. Both illustrate an integrated approach to preparedness where blood transfusion services work closely with health care providers and the donor community. Preparedness includes appropriate stock management and resupply from other centers. However, the introduction of alternative transfusion products, transfusion triage, and the greater use of an emergency donor panel to provide whole blood may permit greater resilience.

This case study examines the growth of collaboration among Scottish higher education institutions. Following a summary of the work of the Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries (SCURL), more detailed information is provided on collaboration in the fields of acquisition, licensing, selection, and purchasing. Some of the UK background is outlined, relating to NESLi2 in particular, in order to illuminate the options within Scotland. The origins of negotiations on electronic ...

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are increasingly turning to the Internet to research their condition and engage in discourse on their experiences. This has resulted in new dynamics in the relationship between providers and their patients, with misinformation and advertising potentially presenting barriers to the cooperative patient-provider partnership. This article addresses important issues of online IBD-related health information and social media activity, such as quality, reliability, objectivity, and privacy. We reviewed the medical literature on the quality of online information provided to IBD patients, and summarized the most commonly accessed Websites related to IBD. We also assessed the activity on popular social media sites (such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube), and evaluated currently available applications for use by IBD patients and providers on mobile phones and tablets. Through our review of the literature and currently available resources, we developed a list of recommended online resources to strengthen patient participation in their care by providing reliable, comprehensive educational material.

From Main Street to Mumbai, Managing Emerging Risk: The Capstone of Preparedness considers the new global drivers behind threats and hazards facing all those tasked with protecting the public and private sector. The text delves into the global mindset of public and private sector emergency managers and presents a new risk landscape vastly different from the one existing ten years ago. The book begins by presenting a series of fictitious scenarios each resulting in mass destruction and fatalities. These are each followed by actual news stories that support the scenarios and demonstrate that the proposed events-seemingly unthinkable-have the potential to occur. Next, the author identifies two drivers in the practice of emergency management and general preparedness today that constitute our view of the future and the new face of risk. The first is the Disaster Halo Effect-the idea that modern threats exhibit more than one event. The second is the worldview of our nation as a Market State focused on the trading o...

The review of past researches discussed that factors such as climate change and movement toward urbanization will result in more frequent and severe disasters in the near future (Yasuhara et al., 2011). Flash flood is the most common type of disaster that residents of Kuala Lumpur (KL) come across, thus in this study, it was desired to discover the factors affecting preparedness among residents of KL as well as assessing the variation of individual preparedness among residents. With the aid of SPSS analysis, the reliability of data, correlation and regression analysis between the investigated factors and disaster preparedness were obtained. According to this research it was found that level of preparedness of residents of KL is still below average; majority of social demographic indicators such as income, education, age, and property ownership showed significant contribution to the variation of disaster preparedness among the residents. For instance men were much more prepared in comparison to women; residents with high level of income and education had also significantly higher preparedness compared to those with low level of income and education. Race was the only factor that differs from the findings of previous studies; since race does not affect the preparedness.

Prior research has found little or no direct link between beliefs about earthquake risk and household preparedness. Furthermore, only limited work has been conducted on how people's beliefs influence the nature and number of preparedness measures adopted. To address this gap, 48 qualitative interviews were undertaken with residents in three urban locations in New Zealand subject to seismic risk. The study aimed to identify the diverse hazard and preparedness-related beliefs people hold and to articulate how these are influenced by public education to encourage preparedness. The study also explored how beliefs and competencies at personal, social, and environmental levels interact to influence people's risk management choices. Three main categories of beliefs were found: hazard beliefs; preparedness beliefs; and personal beliefs. Several salient beliefs found previously to influence the preparedness process were confirmed by this study, including beliefs related to earthquakes being an inevitable and imminent threat, self-efficacy, outcome expectancy, personal responsibility, responsibility for others, and beliefs related to denial, fatalism, normalization bias, and optimistic bias. New salient beliefs were also identified (e.g., preparedness being a "way of life"), as well as insight into how some of these beliefs interact within the wider informational and societal context.

Full Text Available The use of mechanical sieves has a great impact on measurement results because occurrence of anisometric particles causes undercounting the average size. Such errors can be avoided by using opto-electronic measuring devices that enable measurement of particles from 10 μm up to a few dozen millimetres in size. The results of measurement of each particle size fraction are summed up proportionally to its weight with the use of Elsieve software system and for every type of material particle-size distribution can be obtained. The software allows further statistical interpretation of the results. Beam of infrared radiation identifies size of particles and counts them precisely. Every particle is represented by an electronic impulse proportional to its size. Measurement of particles in aqueous suspension that replaces the hydrometer method can be carried out by using the IPS L analyser (range from 0.2 to 600 μm. The IPS UA analyser (range from 0.5 to 2000 μm is designed for measurement in the air. An ultrasonic adapter enables performing measurements of moist and aggregated particles from 0.5 to 1000 μm. The construction and software system allow to determine second dimension of the particle, its shape coefficient and specific surface area. The AWK 3D analyser (range from 0.2 to 31.5 mm is devoted to measurement of various powdery materials with subsequent determination of particle shape. The AWK B analyser (range from 1 to 130 mm measures materials of thick granulation and shape of the grains. The presented method of measurement repeatedly accelerates and facilitates study of granulometric composition.

纸本资源和电子资源属于公共图书馆文献资源中两个非常重要的资源类型，纸本资源和电子资源的协调发展在图书馆的可持续发展过程中起着非常重要的作用。本文对如何实现图书馆电子资源和纸本资源之间的协调发展进行了探讨，希望能够为图书馆文献资源的管理提供一些参考。% The paper and electronicresources are two very important types of literature resources of public libraries, the coordinated development of the paper and electronicresources play a very important role in the sustainable development process of the library. This article discusses how to realize the coordinated development of library electronicresources and paper resources, hope to provide some reference for library literature resource management.

In the preparedness phase of the disaster cycle, willingness to invest resources in prevention and mitigation doesn't depend only on quantitative judgments of the probability of a disaster. People also evaluate the risks of situations in qualitative ways. Psychological studies of risk perception have shown that risk attitudes toward everyday technologies and activities (e.g., electric power, air travel, smoking) can be mapped onto two orthogonal dimensions: how unknown the risks seem, and how dread or severe they feel. Previously, this psychometric approach to risk perception has focused mostly on man-made risks (e.g., Fischhoff et al. 1978, Slovic 1987). In this paper we examine how natural hazards fit into the established unknown/dread risk space. Hazards that are high on the unknown dimension of risk tend to be perceived as having effects that are unknown to science and to the exposed, uncontrollable, and new. Hazards that rank high on the dread/severity dimension are seen as immediate, catastrophic, highly dreaded on a gut level, new, and likely to be fatal. Perceived risk tends to be highest for hazards that are both high on the dread dimension and low on the unknown dimension. We find that weather-related hazards rank lowest on both dimensions: blizzards, heat waves, hailstorms, fog, and ice storms are all feel very known and not particularly dread. The exception for this group is hurricanes and tornadoes, which are viewed as more similar to geophysical hazards and mass movements: high on dread, though not particularly unknown. Two notable outliers are climate change and sea-level rise, which are both considered very unknown (higher than any other natural hazard save sinkholes), and not at all dread (less dread even than fog and dust storms). But when compared with perceptions of technological hazards, nearly every natural hazard ranks as more dread than any technology or activity, including nuclear power. Man-made hazards fall with technologies, rather than

The report presents an overview of Emergency Preparedness Organisations (EPO) in Sweden, Finland and Norway and presentations of insights from a study of the staff positions' work instructions in the command centre in an emergency situation. The results indicate potential for improvement in several areas. A number of the improvements are related to introduction of new technology and they should be seen in connection with ensuring safe and reliable communication lines and power supply. Analysis of the data identified four main categories where further studies could contribute to improvement: 1) Communication and exchange of information. 2) Tools and technology. 3) Staffing and organisation. 4) Procedures. The usefulness of the Man Technology and Organisation method in analysing the emergency management decision-making process within the authorities was considered as an interesting issue for continuation of the project. The interface between utility and authorities was pointed out as an important area for continuation. (Author)

As one of the largest groups of health care providers in the United States, nurses are trained to attend to the physical, psychological, and spiritual needs of their patients, making them highly qualified to influence the outcomes of victims of an emergency situation. Unfortunately, nursing programs offer limited content on delivering care under extreme conditions, and few continuing education programs are available to practicing nurses. This article provides a brief educational presentation that can be used without an extensive time commitment or in-depth instructor knowledge of the subject. The course content has been presented to nurses at the American Red Cross, at local chapter meetings of professional nursing organizations, and to both graduate and undergraduate nursing students. This presentation is not designed to be a comprehensive study of disaster nursing, but serves as a starting point that might lead to further study and encourage active participation in preparedness education and planning.

The 2008 Disaster Mitigation Preparedness (DMP) study took place in Aceh province, Indonesia. It sought to help develop radio programmes and messages to increase resilience to disasters. The role of radio was evaluated during and after the 2004 Asian tsunami disaster. The study team interviewed 984 tsunami survivors from nine sub-districts of Banda Aceh, and local nongovernmental organisations convened eight focus groups around the area of Aceh Besar. Six key informant interviews were held with government disaster management agencies. The DMP survey is the first of its kind to interview a representative random sample of Banda Aceh residents. It reveals the importance of community and social networks, during disaster situations, when essential communications are down. A disaster warning information system based on a multi-media approach needs to be developed. The wider community should be involved in the planning, education and training of Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar residents to facilitate appropriate personal and community survival strategies.

In recent years, a large number of electronicresources was introduced to the libraries, which has become an im- portant component of library resource system. However, there are also a lot of hot debates about the following issues, such as how to build a traditional paper resources, how to deal with the relationship between paper resources and electronicresources, how to build a library resources development system, etc. These problems also confused many librarians who are building resources in the library. With the combination with the opinions from some experts, research scholars, the paper proposed some guiding principles to deal with the relationship between electronicresources and paper resources. Taking all the aspects into consideration, such as the concepts of the library, the funding of the resources, the policies and structure of the library, cooperative development, the paper also proposes some measures for the development of electronicresources and paper resources.%在复合图书馆环境下，如何协调发展电子资源与纸本资源是图书馆界专家、学者研究和探讨的热点问题，也是许多图书馆工作者在文献资源建设实践中十分困惑的问题。文章结合有关专家、学者的研究成果及图书馆的相关案例，概述了电子资源与纸本资源协调发展应遵循的指导性原则，并从馆藏理念、经费投入、馆藏政策、馆藏结构、合作发展、服务利用等几个方面提出了协调发展电子资源与纸本资源的若干举措。

Full Text Available Background: In disasters, large number of causalities rash into the hospitals in order to get health facilities. So, hospitals are the reference point for delivering the health services in all levels for helping to the most percent of injured people. Aim of study was to assess hospital disaster preparedness of Bushehr province. Maretial and Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study which has been done in all Bushehr province hospitals. In order to collect data, we used 210 questions checklist with 10 different aims each aim had consisted of 6 different domains (equipment, working stuff, physical space, structure, protocols and functional chart. The checklists were completed by direct observation and evaluation of equipment, programs and documents based on their domains with different people. Results: The hospital preparedness in traffic base was very poor with mean number of 19/04±16/10 evaluation of security education and management domain with mean number 35/29±26/52, 38/65±19/46, 36/36±24/05, respectively were poor. In logistics, workforce, communications, excused transportation and addition to the hospitals with the mean number of 53/26±26/31, 49/65±27/61, 45/53±18/29, 43/33±19/72, and 40/47±20/37 were estimated as average. The most number was belonged to the emergency with the mean number of 53/80±19/18. Conclusion: The Bushehr province hospitals have not enough preparation against unexpected disasters and cannot be a good supporter for disaster happening, and in the occasions of happenings so many serious problems will occur. It will be suggested that the hospital managers should pay more attention to the unexpected disasters.

Objectives Few empirical studies have examined the disaster preparedness and response practices of individuals with spinal cord injuries and/or disorders (SCI/D) and the healthcare providers who serve them. This study was conducted to understand the experiences of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) providers and Veterans with SCI/D in recent natural disasters, and to identify lessons learned for disaster preparedness and response in the context of SCI/D. Design Semi-structured interviews were conducted with providers and Veterans recruited through seven VHA facilities that had sustained a disaster since 2003. Audio recordings of the interviews were transcribed; transcripts were analyzed using constant comparative techniques. Results Forty participants completed an interview, including 21 VHA SCI/D providers and 19 Veterans with SCI/D. Disasters experienced by participants were weather related. While many Veterans were evacuated or admitted to nearby VHA facilities, others chose to stay in their communities. All facilities had formal disaster plans and engaged in related training; however, participants explained that many aspects of a response take shape ‘in the moment,’ and must address both provider and Veteran needs. Dispersion of resources hindered well-coordinated care, but effective communication, teamwork, advanced warnings, and VHA's electronic medical record facilitated efforts. Conclusions Even in the case of thorough planning, Veterans with SCI/D and their healthcare providers are faced with pressing needs during disasters, and identifying strategies to coordinate care is critical. The lessons learned are intended to inform the efforts of healthcare providers who may be involved in the care of individuals with SCI/D in future disasters. PMID:21903009

Full Text Available Under third-party power intervention (TPPI, which increases uncertainty in task environments, complex channel power interplays and restructuring are indispensable among green supply chain members as they move toward sustainable collaborative relationships for increased viability and competitive advantage. From the resource dependence perspective, this work presents a novel conceptual model to investigate the influence of political and social power on channel power restructuring and induced green supply chain collaboration in brander-retailer bidirectional green supply chains of fashionable consumer electronics products (FCEPs. An FCEP refers to the consumer electronics product (e.g., personal computers, mobile phones, computer notebooks, and game consoles with the features of a well-known brand associated, a short product lifecycle, timely and fashionable design fit for market trends, and quick responsiveness to the variations of market demands. The proposed model is tested empirically using questionnaire data obtained from retailers in the FCEP brander-retailer distribution channels. Analytical results reveal that as an extension of political and social power, TPPI positively affects the reciprocal interdependence of dyadic members and reduces power asymmetry, thereby enhancing the collaborative relationship of dyadic members and leading to improved green supply chain performance. Therein, reciprocal interdependence underlying collaborative relationship is the key to reducing the external environmental uncertainties in the TPPI context.

This study describes the development and evaluation of online Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) training adapted to the learning styles and needs of tribal Community Health Representatives (CHRs). Working through a university-tribal community college partnership, the Arizona Center for Public Health Preparedness at the University of Arizona and Diné College of the Navajo Nation delivered a blended online and face-to-face public health preparedness certificate program based on core public health emergency preparedness competencies. This program was carefully adapted to meet the environmental and learning needs of the tribal CHRs. The certificate program was subsequently evaluated via a scenario-based decision-making methodology. Significant improvements in five of six competency areas were documented by comparison of pre- and post-certificate training testing. Based on statistical support for this pedagogical approach the cultural adaptations utilized in delivery of the certificate program appear to be effective for PHEP American Indian education.

The case of cholera preparedness, response and prevention in the SADC region: ... need for alternative solutions, including a socio-political understanding of cholera responses at different levels of scale and at different stages of an outbreak.

Full Text Available Addressing protection as a key element of community-based disaster risk reduction and preparedness efforts is essential to safeguarding human rights in disaster and emergency settings.

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: The presence of the highly pathogenic avian H5N1 virus in wild bird populations in several regions of the world, together with recurrent cases of H5N1 influenza arising primarily from direct contact with poultry, have highlighted the urgent need for prepared-ness and coordinated global strategies to effectively combat a potential influenza pandemic. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the Canadian pandemic influenza preparedness plan.

With the increasing global frequency of disasters, the call for disaster preparedness training needs to be reinforced. Nurses form the largest group of the healthcare workforce and are often on the frontline in disaster management. Therefore, nurses should be adequately equipped with the knowledge and skills to respond to disasters, starting from their pre-service training to their in-service professional training. However, the inclusion of disaster preparedness education in under...

Flood warning and response have normally been focused on the technical aspects and disregarded the connections and feedbacks between the hydrological and social dimensions. An increasing body of research, however, points at the importance of considering socio-hydrological aspects to improve flood damage mitigation. One of the key factors is the preparedness of the public and first responders during flood situations, which is influenced by many behavioural traits such as perceived benefits, risk awareness, or denial. In this study, we investigate the impact of social preparedness on the efficiency of flood early warning systems by using the recency of flood experience as a proxy for social preparedness. To this end, we developed a stylised model and a synthetic data-set to perform a hypothetical analysis. The main findings point to the importance of social preparedness for flood loss mitigation, especially when the technical forecasting and warning capabilities are limited. More specifically, efforts to promote and preserve social preparedness may help to reduce disaster-induced losses by almost one half. The findings from this study provide insights into the importance of considering social preparedness in decision-making for disaster risk reduction.

通过分析影响用户对图书馆电子资源利用的因素，以美国顾客满意度指数模型为基础，提出关于各个因素的测量指标，对高校图书馆电子资源用户满意度进行测量。%Through analyzing the influencing factors on utilizing library electronicresources, based on the model of American customer satisfaction index, the paper puts forward corresponding measurement indexes, and then measures the user satisfaction on electronicresources of university library

Natural hazards have been defined in several ways in recent decades. Whatever your choice, it will be fine provided you consider that they are complex physical phenomena that expose a natural area to risk of loss of life, environmental degradation and property damages. In a time-line, one may divide the hazards, particularly those considered extremes, in a pre-event phase, the event itself and a post-event period. At this moment, I would like to promote an initial reflection by focusing in the geoethical behaviour scientists have to bear in mind accordingly to the particular characteristics of the pre-event phase, considering ethics as a way of systematizing, defending and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct. In an accelerated world, where the pressure of the every day life gives us little room to exercise our mind to think in such apparent démodé issues as ethics, society, nature, responsibilities and duties, I would like to invite you to stop few minutes and reflect on the ethical implications of being a geoscientists dealing with natural hazards in the XXI century. The most dangerous hazards are those extreme events with a rapid onset (earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.). Thus far, science has not found effective ways to predict and reduce most natural hazards. If we are not capable to forecast or minimize the effect of an extreme event, geosciences, and scientists, are responsible of in deep risk assessments for areas that might be subject to natural hazards also contributing to preparedness of society. However, we have been working on that issues, but it seems we are not being as efficient as needed. On the risk analysis, which includes forecast models, we use to be too Cartesians, taking too much time in arriving to conclusions when a non clear cause-effect chain can be identified. It is our ethical duty to evaluate when to stop searching for causes when dealing with complex systems. The search for a specific cause for a given extreme natural event

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The adoption of electronic medical record systems in resource-limited settings can help clinicians monitor patients' adherence to HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART and identify patients at risk of future ART failure, allowing resources to be targeted to those most at risk. METHODS: Among adult patients enrolled on ART from 2005-2013 at two large, public-sector hospitals in Haiti, ART failure was assessed after 6-12 months on treatment, based on the World Health Organization's immunologic and clinical criteria. We identified models for predicting ART failure based on ART adherence measures and other patient characteristics. We assessed performance of candidate models using area under the receiver operating curve, and validated results using a randomly-split data sample. The selected prediction model was used to generate a risk score, and its ability to differentiate ART failure risk over a 42-month follow-up period was tested using stratified Kaplan Meier survival curves. RESULTS: Among 923 patients with CD4 results available during the period 6-12 months after ART initiation, 196 (21.2% met ART failure criteria. The pharmacy-based proportion of days covered (PDC measure performed best among five possible ART adherence measures at predicting ART failure. Average PDC during the first 6 months on ART was 79.0% among cases of ART failure and 88.6% among cases of non-failure (p<0.01. When additional information including sex, baseline CD4, and duration of enrollment in HIV care prior to ART initiation were added to PDC, the risk score differentiated between those who did and did not meet failure criteria over 42 months following ART initiation. CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacy data are most useful for new ART adherence alerts within iSanté. Such alerts offer potential to help clinicians identify patients at high risk of ART failure so that they can be targeted with adherence support interventions, before ART failure occurs.

Full Text Available Background: Public health legal preparedness (PHLP for emergencies is a core component of the health system response. However, the implementation of health legal preparedness differs between low- and middle-income countries (LMIC and developed countries. Objective: This paper examines recent trends regarding public health legal preparedness for emergencies and discusses its role in the recent Ebola outbreak. Design: A rigorous literature review was conducted using eight electronic databases as well as Google Scholar. The results encompassed peer-reviewed English articles, reports, theses, and position papers dating from 2011 to 2014. Earlier articles concerning regulatory actions were also examined. Results: The importance of PHLP has grown during the past decade and focuses mainly on infection–disease scenarios. Amid LMICs, it mostly refers to application of international regulations, whereas in developed states, it focuses on independent legislation and creation of conditions optimal to promoting an effective emergency management. Among developed countries, the United States’ utilisation of health legal preparedness is the most advanced, including the creation of a model comprising four elements: law, competencies, information, and coordination. Only limited research has been conducted in this field to date. Nevertheless, in both developed and developing states, studies that focused on regulations and laws activated in health systems during emergencies, identified inconsistency and incoherence. The Ebola outbreak plaguing West Africa since 2014 has global implications, challenges and paralleling results, that were identified in this review. Conclusions: The review has shown the need to broaden international regulations, to deepen reciprocity between countries, and to consider LMICs health capacities, in order to strengthen the national health security. Adopting elements of the health legal preparedness model is recommended.

. These issues include a poor sharing of patient health records, prescription errors, unavailability of software tools to assist physicians in answering patient questions, physicians’ concerns about the reliability of ICT and the high monetary cost of e-health implementation and uncertainty over return on investment, and their dissatisfaction with the software in use. Conclusions Prior to the implementation of e-Health, planning must be undertaken to ensure the smooth introduction of the system. The assessment of organisational preparedness is an important step in this planning process. On the basis of a case study, deficient areas of organisational preparedness were identified for the prospective implementation of electronic health records. Accordingly, we suggested possible solutions for the areas in need of improvement to facilitate e-Health implementation's success. PMID:23485719

The purpose of this study was to assess the objective bioterrorism-related knowledge base and the perceived response readiness of veterinarians in Hawaii to a bioterrorism event, and also to identify variables associated with knowledge-based test performance. An anonymous survey instrument was mailed to all licensed veterinarians residing in Hawaii (N = 229) up to three times during June and July 2004, using numeric identifiers to track non-respondents. The response rate for deliverable surveys was 59% (125 of 212). Only 12% (15 of 123) of respondents reported having had prior training on bioterrorism. Forty-four percent (55 of 125) reported being able to identify a bioterrorism event in animal populations; however, only 17% (21 of 125) felt able to recognize a bioterrorism event in human populations. Only 16% (20 of 123) felt they were able to respond effectively to a bioterrorist attack. Over 90% (106 of 116) expressed their willingness to provide assistance to the state in its response to a bioterrorist event. Veterinarians scored a mean of 70% correct (5.6 out of 8 questions) on the objective knowledge-based questions. Additional bioterrorism preparedness training should be made available, both in the form of continuing educational offerings for practicing veterinarians and as a component of the curriculum in veterinary schools.

Disaster preparedness activities aim to reduce the impact of disasters by being better prepared to respond when a disaster occurs. In order to better anticipate requirements during a disaster, contingency planning activities can be undertaken prior to a disaster based on a realistic disaster scenario. InaSAFE is a tool that can inform this process. InaSAFE is a free and open source software that estimates the impact to people and infrastructure from potential hazard scenarios. By using InaSAFE, disaster managers can develop scenarios of disaster impacts (people and infrastructures affected) to inform their contingency plan and emergency response operation plan. While InaSAFE provides the software framework exposure data and hazard data are needed as inputs to run this software. Then InaSAFE can be used to forecast the impact of the hazard scenario to the exposure data. InaSAFE outputs include estimates of the number of people, buildings and roads are affected, list of minimum needs (rice and clean water), and response checklist. InaSAFE is developed by Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) and the Australian Government, through the Australia-Indonesia Facility for Disaster Reduction (AIFDR), in partnership with the World Bank - Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR). This software has been used in many parts of Indonesia, including Padang, Maumere, Jakarta, and Slamet Mountain for emergency response and contingency planning.

Between May 2010 and September 2011, the University of Minnesota School of Public Health partnered with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to assess the effect of exercises on team performance during public health emergency response. Participants were divided into 3 research teams exposed to various levels of intervention. Groups consisted of a control group that was given standard MDH training exercises, a didactic group exposed to team dynamics and communication training, and a treatment group that received the didactic training in addition to a post-exercise facilitated debriefing. To assess differences in team performance, teams engaged in 15 functional exercises. Differences in team performance across the 3 groups were identified, although there was no trend in team performance over time for any of the groups. Groups demonstrated fluctuation in team performance during the study period. Attitudinal surveys demonstrated an increase in workplace satisfaction and confidence in training among all groups throughout the study period. Findings from this research support that a critical link exists between training type and team performance during public health emergency response. This research supports that intentional teamwork training for emergency response workers is essential for effective public health emergency response. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:7-10).

The New York • New Jersey Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center (NY•NJ PERLC) is one of 14 Centers funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designed to address the preparedness and response training and education needs of the public health workforce. One of the important niches, or focus areas for the Center, is training to improve the capacity of public health workers to respond with competence to the needs of vulnerable populations. During every phase of a disaster, racial and ethnic minorities, including Latinos, suffer worse outcomes than the general population. Communities with diverse cultural origins and limited English speakers often present more complex issues during public health emergencies. Training that incorporates cultural concepts into the Preparedness Core Competencies may improve the ability of public health workers to engage the Latino community in preparedness activities and ultimately improve outcomes during disasters. This article describes initiatives undertaken by the NY•NJ PERLC to improve the capacity of the public health workforce to respond competently to the needs of Latino populations. In 2012, the Center collaborated with national, state, and local partners to develop a nationwide broadcast founded on the Preparedness Core Competencies, Latinos During Emergencies: Cultural Considerations Impacting Disaster Preparedness. The widely viewed broadcast (497 sites in 47 states and 13 nations) highlighted the commonalities and differences within Latino culture that can impact emergency preparedness and response and outlined practical strategies to enhance participation. The success of the broadcast spurred a number of partner requests for training and technical assistance. Lessons learned from these experiences, including our "undercover" work at local Points of Dispensing, are incorporated into subsequent interactive trainings to improve the competency of public health workers. Participants recommended

Purpose: To demonstrate the feasibility of the BRIGHTEN Program (Bridging Resources of an Interdisciplinary Geriatric Health Team via Electronic Networking), an interdisciplinary team intervention for assessing and treating older adults for depression in outpatient primary and specialty medical clinics. The BRIGHTEN team collaborates "virtually"…

Full Text Available The article introduces some results of research, which were devoted to evaluation of tearches' mobility to introduce innovations in the contents of education. The author considers innovative potential of modules of the methodical support for system of electronic educational resources.

In 2010, after two previous unsuccessful attempts at electronicresources management system (ERMS) implementation, Texas A&M University (TAMU) Libraries set out once again to find an ERMS that would fit its needs. After surveying the field, TAMU Libraries selected the University of Notre Dame Hesburgh Libraries-developed, open-source ERMS,…

Purpose: To demonstrate the feasibility of the BRIGHTEN Program (Bridging Resources of an Interdisciplinary Geriatric Health Team via Electronic Networking), an interdisciplinary team intervention for assessing and treating older adults for depression in outpatient primary and specialty medical clinics. The BRIGHTEN team collaborates "virtually"…

Full Text Available The study tested a hybrid model with constructs drawn from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM and Diffusion of Innovation (DOI theory in order to examine the moderating effect of productivity and relative advantage (RA on perceived usefulness (PU vis-à-vis electronic information resources (EIR adoption in private university libraries in Ogun and Osun States of Nigeria. The descriptive research design was adopted in the study. The population consisted of 61 (55.0% librarians and 50 (45.0% library officers (totaling 116—100% in Babcock University, Bells University, Covenant University, Bowen University, Oduduwa University, and Redeemer's University. Purposive sampling procedure was adopted after which total enumeration was used since the total population is small. The questionnaire was used for data collection. Of the 116 copies of the questionnaire administered, 111 (95.7% were found usable. The instrument was structured based on a 4-point Likert agreement scale of Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics like tables of frequency counts and percentage. The findings revealed that productivity and relative advantage are significant moderators of perceived usefulness of EIR adoption in private university libraries in Ogun and Osun States, Nigeria.

Nearly $7 billion has been invested through national cooperative funding since 2002 to strengthen state and local response capacity. Yet, very little outcome evidence exists to analyze funding effectiveness. The objective of this research is to analyze the relationship between investment (funding) and capacity (readiness) for public health preparedness (PHP). The aim of the authors is to use a management framework to evaluate capacity, and to explore the "immediacy bias" impact on investment stability. This study employs a longitudinal study design, incorporating survey research of the entire population of 68 health departments in the state of Texas. The authors assessed the investment-capacity relationship through several statistical methods. The authors created a structural measure of managerial capacity through principal components analysis, factorizing 10 independent variables and augment this with a perceived readiness level reported from PHP managers. The authors then employ analysis of variance, correlation analyses, and other descriptive statistics. There has been a 539 percent coefficient of variation in funding at the local level between the years 2004 and 2008, and a 63 percent reduction in total resources since the peak of funding, using paired sample data. Results suggest that investment is positively associated with readiness and managerial capacity in local health departments. The authors also find that investment was related to greater community collaboration, higher adoption of Incident Command System (ICS) structure, and more frequent operational drills and exercises. Greater investment is associated with higher levels of capacity and readiness. The authors conclude from this that investment should be stabilized and continued, and not be influenced by historical cognitive biases.

Flood early warning systems play a major role in the disaster risk reduction paradigm as cost-effective methods to mitigate flood disaster damage. The connections and feedbacks between the hydrological and social spheres of early warning systems are increasingly being considered as key aspects for successful flood mitigation. The behavior of the public and first responders during flood situations, determined by their preparedness, is heavily influenced by many behavioral traits such as perceived benefits, risk awareness, or even denial. In this study, we use the recency of flood experiences as a proxy for social preparedness to assess its impact on the efficiency of flood early warning systems through a simple stylized model and implemented this model using a simple mathematical description. The main findings, which are based on synthetic data, point to the importance of social preparedness for flood loss mitigation, especially in circumstances where the technical forecasting and warning capabilities are limited. Furthermore, we found that efforts to promote and preserve social preparedness may help to reduce disaster-induced losses by almost one half. The findings provide important insights into the role of social preparedness that may help guide decision-making in the field of flood early warning systems.

Full Text Available Abstract In a paper appearing in this issue, Adini, et al. describe a struggle familiar to many emergency planners—the challenge of planning for all scenarios. The authors contend that all-hazards, or capabilities-based planning, in which a set of core capabilities applicable to numerous types of events is developed, is a more efficient way to achieve general health care system emergency preparedness than scenario-based planning. Essentially, the core of what is necessary to plan for and respond to one kind of disaster (e.g. a biologic event is also necessary for planning and responding to other types of disasters, allowing for improvements in planning and maximizing efficiencies. While Adini, et al. have advanced the science of health care emergency preparedness through their consideration of 490 measures to assess preparedness, a shorter set of validated preparedness measures would support the dual goals of accountability and improved outcomes and could provide the basis for determining which actions in the name of preparedness really matter.

This article presents a preliminary investigation on the motivations for and the barriers that hinder preparedness toward disasters in a community. Survey questionnaires were distributed to local individuals in the nine districts of Selangor state in Malaysia. A total of 402 usable questionnaires were analyzed. The initial findings revealed that community members are motivated for disaster preparedness mainly for family safety reason. However, generally they do not know how to be prepared. This article concludes by highlighting the importance of knowledge and information in community preparedness. This research is limited to one state in Malaysia. However, the chosen state has a large effect on the Malaysian gross domestic product; hence, lack of preparedness poses a critical risk to its large population. This study on motivation and barriers for disaster preparedness is intended to increase the effectiveness of community readiness as a whole toward major disasters such as landslide and flood. The result of this study is valuable to the scientific community within the disaster management domain, the government agencies for policy and strategy formulations, and the local community to preempt, deal with, and ultimately survive disasters. This research aims to ensure that the community is continuously prepared and able to meet the evolving needs of the individual citizen as the nation strives toward promoting a knowledgeable society.

... Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response (BSC, COTPER) \\1\\ \\1\\ The Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response has been renamed and is now the Office of Public...

US Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior — This is the Fire Danger Operating and Preparedness Plan for the Burns Interagency Fire Zone. This plan provides a method to calculate the preparedness and dispatch...

Objective Family caregivers of terminally ill patients are in a vulnerable position, and previous studies show that bereaved caregivers are at risk of psychological distress. Pre-loss grief symptoms seem to predict post-loss psychological distress, while preparedness for a looming loss tends...... to decrease distress. The aim of this nation-wide study was to investigate the association of both anticipatory grief symptoms and preparedness with psychological distress in bereaved family caregivers. Methods A list of all adult patients in Denmark receiving drug reimbursement for terminal illness...... months after the loss. The baseline questionnaire included a pre-loss version of the Prolonged Grief-13 and one question regarding caregiver preparedness, while the follow-up questionnaire contained the Prolonged Grief-13 and Beck’s Depression Inventory II. Results Of the contacted 9,512 patients 3...

An accident which is resulted a radiological emergency is very rare. However, once it is occurred, the accident will be affected to the near resident from the accident facility due to a radiation exposure. Further more it can be resulted in a negative growth of the nuclear industry. To reduce the exposure from the environment release of the radioactive materials and help the public relation from any vague mental stress, it is possible that the nuclear emergency preparedness is established in advance. Japan, JCO critical accident experienced, is commenced or renewed every year continuously related a law, regulations, manuals and procedures by Japan Nuclear Safety Committee. These are also considerable matters in our nuclear facility in point of view a technic or an arrangement. Therefore, this technical report is described the nuclear disaster preparedness which has published by Japan Nuclear Safety Committee. It will be useful as reference document for more improvement or establishment of the planning on our nuclear emergency preparedness

... HUMAN SERVICES Office of the Secretary Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response... as the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), and to realign the... the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response AN.00 Mission AN.10 Organization AN.20 Functions...

To outline a framework for preparedness planning at the organizational level. The study is based on a content analysis of research literature as well as an analysis of interviews with six preparedness planners working in Swedish local authorities. The study setting included Swedish local authorities of different sizes. The participants are preparedness planners responsible for coordinating crisis management work in Swedish local authorities. The study includes preparedness planners with different backgrounds, education, experiences, and gender. A presentation of 19 factors of preparedness planning identified in the literature and a discussion around how preparedness planners perceive those factors. The main outcome measures are knowledge about how both researcher and practitioner understand and argue around different factors of preparedness planning. The result of this study is a framework for preparedness planning. As preparedness planning ought to be a learning process, the presented framework builds on four areas connected to learning: prerequisites for preparedness planning, who should be involved, what is to be learned, and how should the work be shaped. The analysis of factors identified in the literature and also in the interviews with preparedness planners illustrates that the four areas connected to learning are required for developing a preparedness planning process.

... Plans and Preparedness in Support of Nuclear Power Plants, NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1, Supplement 4 and FEMA... Radiological Emergency Response Plans and Preparedness in Support of Nuclear Power Plants,'' NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP- 1, Revision 1 (NUREG-0654), and the Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program Manual (the...

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Homeland Security Act (HSA of 2002 provided for the designation of a critical infrastructure protection program. This ultimately led to the designation of emergency services as a targeted critical infrastructure. In the context of an evolving crisis in hospital-based emergency care, the extent to which federal funding has addressed disaster preparedness will be examined. Discussion After 9/11, federal plans, procedures and benchmarks were mandated to assure a unified, comprehensive disaster response, ranging from local to federal activation of resources. Nevertheless, insufficient federal funding has contributed to a long-standing counter-trend which has eroded emergency medical care. The causes are complex and multifactorial, but they have converged to present a severely overburdened system that regularly exceeds emergency capacity and capabilities. This constant acute overcrowding, felt in communities all across the country, indicates a nation at risk. Federal funding has not sufficiently prioritized the improvements necessary for an emergency care infrastructure that is critical for an all hazards response to disaster and terrorist emergencies. Summary Currently, the nation is unable to meet presidential preparedness mandates for emergency and disaster care. Federal funding strategies must therefore be re-prioritized and targeted in a way that reasonably and consistently follows need.

In order to protect the public and environment from harm through responsible petroleum operations, the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) has a strict regulatory framework whose principles are embodied in ERCB directives. This report consisted of a directive that provides the planning requirements for emergency response plan (ERP) development that licensees are required to meet in order to gain ERCB approval for the ERP. The requirements for a corporate level ERP were also provided. In addition, the report provided the requirements that licensees are required to meet in order to effectively implement their plans and respond to an emergency including things such as public and local authority involvement in emergency preparedness and response; common requirements for site-specific ERPs; sour well site-specific drilling and/or completion ERPs; and, spill cooperative response plans. The report provided an introduction to the directive and its requirements, including licensee responsibility; requirements, enforcement, and expectations; purpose of emergency preparedness and response; what's new in directive 071; directive 071 requirements; and ERP application process for ERCB approval. Several appendices were also provided for non-compliance events; definitions for the purposes of directive 071; ERP approval application; evacuation requirements; assessment and ignition criteria flowchart; and first call communication forms. 10 tabs., 4 figs., 10 appendices.

By exchanging idle goods and services, electronic bartering can help enterprises solve dull sale problems, shortage of funds, overstocks and other problems without sufficient cash. Relying on the Internet and the e-commerce platform, electronic bartering removes the traditional bartering limitations, greatly expands the trading object and range, improves the transaction efficiency, and provides additional channels for economic development. How to promote more successful barters among multiple barterers? A key factor is the matching of barter resources. Focusing on the automatic matching of resources in the electronic barter, this paper proposes a network model to help maximize resources matching and provide recommendation information for barter participants, thereby raising the transaction rate and making the barter market prosperous.According to the type and quantity of barter resources, barter market can be divided into two types. In the first type, the supply and demand of the barter market is related to the same type of resources and each barterer owns only one type of resource. In the second type, the supply and demand of the barter market is linked to many types of resources and each barterer owns multiple resources to be exchanged. The first case has been resolved in the relevant document by using the graph theory to solve digraph circuits. This paper is interested in studying the second type of barter. Suppose the barter market has m barterers and n resources. Each barterer owns diverse types of barter resources, and is interested in other types of resources. The barterer a will provide other barterers his own resources only if he gets the resources he needs from the barterer b. Note that each of the bartered resource is regarded as having equal value to any other resources. The main objective is to maximize the number of resources that are bartered.Next, this paper proposes a math model of automatic resources matching by systematically analyzing resource

Contemporary disasters, like the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, have piqued the interest of medical students in disaster preparedness. The topic is also a requirement of undergraduate medical education.(1) Yet current literature suggests that disaster preparedness education is lacking. Our objective was to pilot a curriculum to augment medical students' disaster preparedness education by marshalling local resources to provide practical hands-on experiences. This pilot curriculum consisted of lectures; simulations; asynchronous learning materials; a large-scale, regional disaster exercise; and preparation for and participation in a real-time mass gathering. Outcomes were measured by student performance on written tests and evaluations of each activity. Academic Health Center with associated medical school. Fifty-two medical students participated in at least one of the six activities during this voluntary pilot program. Premedical students and residents (n=57) participated in some activities. Forty-one medical students took either the pretest or the post-test over the curriculum. Only eight students took both. A paired t test comparing pretest to post-test scores using imputed missing data (t=-11.72, df=40, p≤0.001) was consistent with an analysis using only complete data (t=-2.35, df=7, p=0.05), implying that student scores improved significantly over time. Evaluations indicated a student preference for hands-on over didactic or independent learning activities. This pilot curriculum was designed to capitalize on practical hands-on training opportunities for our medical students, including participation in a disaster exercise and a mass-gathering event. These opportunities provided effective and engaging disaster preparedness education.

Full Text Available Abstract Background Since 2003, Asia-Pacific, particularly Southeast Asia, has received substantial attention because of the anticipation that it could be the epicentre of the next pandemic. There has been active investment but earlier review of pandemic preparedness plans in the region reveals that the translation of these strategic plans into operational plans is still lacking in some countries particularly those with low resources. The objective of this study is to understand the pandemic preparedness programmes, the health systems context, and challenges and constraints specific to the six Asian countries namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Taiwan, Thailand, and Viet Nam in the prepandemic phase before the start of H1N1/2009. Methods The study relied on the Systemic Rapid Assessment (SYSRA toolkit, which evaluates priority disease programmes by taking into account the programmes, the general health system, and the wider socio-cultural and political context. The components under review were: external context; stewardship and organisational arrangements; financing, resource generation and allocation; healthcare provision; and information systems. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected in the second half of 2008 based on a review of published data and interviews with key informants, exploring past and current patterns of health programme and pandemic response. Results The study shows that health systems in the six countries varied in regard to the epidemiological context, health care financing, and health service provision patterns. For pandemic preparation, all six countries have developed national governance on pandemic preparedness as well as national pandemic influenza preparedness plans and Avian and Human Influenza (AHI response plans. However, the governance arrangements and the nature of the plans differed. In the five developing countries, the focus was on surveillance and rapid containment of poultry related transmission

随着科学技术的飞速发展，高新信息技术的广泛应用，大学图书馆的工作内容和方法也面临新的挑战，为了使用户更好的利用大学图书馆的电子资源，提高电子资源利用率，实现大学图书馆数字化，本文主要从电子资源的利用和维护方面进行探讨。%With the rapid development of science and technology,the extensive application of high-tech information technology, University of content and methods of library work is also facing new challenges in order to make better use of university library users to electronicresources,improve the utilization of electronicresources to achieve the University Library digital,paper, from the use of electronicresources and maintenance were discussed.

The threat of terrorism is a concern in public facilities including schools. This study focused on school districts in a southwestern state. Terrorism emergency preparedness policies are well-documented as measures to protect students and staff in school districts from terrorism threats and vulnerabilities. However, those threats and…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of student teaching experiences by measuring teacher candidates' perceptions of their preparedness. The participants were 130 teacher candidates who had completed their student teaching as part of a program preparing them to teach children in pre-K through grade 4. Teacher candidates…

Public transportation, with its open access, creates an opportunity for masses of people to be hurt while using transit services during human-made or natural disasters. This dissertation reviews the body of academic and professional literature and recent disaster events to characterize the current state of preparedness for disasters affecting…

In this work, we engaged engineering undergraduate students in constructing an ePortfolio. The purpose of the research presented here was to explore the question, "If and in what ways do students report experiencing the construction of a preparedness portfolio in a portfolio studio as an opportunity to develop into self-authoring…

Discussion of changes in the criteria by which faculty preparedness is evaluated focuses on a study of six graduate programs of library education in Pakistan that evaluated faculty based on academic qualifications, professional experience, and research and publication credentials. Shortcomings are discussed, and remedial measures are suggested,…

The political and economic upheavals which have taken place in Eastern Europe have had an impact on radiation and nuclear safety throughout Europe. Emergency preparedness systems for unexpected nuclear events have been developed further in all European countries, and prosperous western nations have invested in improving the safety of East European nuclear power plants. The economic crisis facing countries of the former Soviet Union has also promoted illicit trade in nuclear materials; this has made it necessary for various border guards and police authorities to intensify their collaboration and to tighten border controls. On 3-4 October 1995, Finnish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety (STUK) arranged a seminar on nuclear threats and emergency preparedness in Finland. In addition to STUK experts, a wide range of rescue and civil defence authorities, environmental health specialists and other persons engaged in emergency preparedness attended the seminar. The publication contains a compilation of reports presented at the seminar. The reports cover a broad spectrum of nuclear threats analyzed at STUK, the impacts of radioactive fallout on human beings and on the environment, and preparedness systems by which the harmful effects of radiation or nuclear accidents can, if necessary, be minimized. (33 figs., 5 tabs.).

With concern about bioterrorism and inadequacies in responding to mass casualty events, health care professionals have been placed in the category of first responders. The International Nursing Coalition for Mass Casualty Education (INCMCE) was established to plan strategically to address the educational needs of the nation's nurses. This study sought to determine the types and levels of disaster preparedness curricula being delivered or in development in nursing programs at all levels. INCMCE surveyed 2,013 deans or directors of nursing schools as to curricula for emergency preparedness prior to September 11, 2001, and during the two following academic years. Initial requests were sent via email and the US postal service. Respondents were invited to answer the online survey so data could be directly entered into a database for purposes of data analysis. Responses were received from 348 schools of nursing. Curriculum plans, followed by competency lists, were selected as most helpful for teaching content in disaster preparedness. The survey results validated the general assumption that nursing programs provide limited curricula in this area. The mean number of hours of disaster preparedness content provided, approximately four hours, did not change significantly over three academic years. The study also showed that 75 percent of respondents thought that nurse faculty were inadequately prepared in the area of disaster management. The study established a baseline for future curricular growth.

The threat of terrorism is a concern in public facilities including schools. This study focused on school districts in a southwestern state. Terrorism emergency preparedness policies are well-documented as measures to protect students and staff in school districts from terrorism threats and vulnerabilities. However, those threats and…

The study of the management of weather-related disaster risks by municipalities has attracted little attention even though these organizations play a key role in protecting the population from extreme meteorological conditions. This article contributes to filling this gap with new evidence on the level and determinants of Quebec municipalities’ preparedness for weather hazards and response to related weather warnings. Using survey data from municipal emergency management coordinators and secondary data on the financial and demographic characteristics of municipalities, the study shows that most Quebec municipalities are sufficiently prepared for weather hazards and undertake measures to protect the population when informed of imminent extreme weather events. Significant differences between municipalities were noted though. Specifically, the level of preparedness was positively correlated with the municipalities’ capacity and population support for weather-related disaster management policies. In addition, the risk of weather-related disasters increases the preparedness level through its effect on population support. We also found that the response to weather warnings depended on the risk of weather-related disasters, the preparedness level and the quality of weather warnings. These results highlight areas for improvement in the context of increasing frequency and/or severity of such events with current climate change. PMID:27649547

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of certification route (traditional versus non-traditional) on second-year, core content area (English, mathematics, science, and social studies) high school teachers' perceptions of their preparedness to teach. The curricular model for teacher preparation proposed by Feiman-Nemser (2001) served…

This report documents the Emergency Preparedness Hazards Assessment (EPHA) for the Transportation of Hazardous Materials (THM) at the Department of Energy (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS). This hazards assessment is intended to identify and analyze those transportation hazards significant enough to warrant consideration in the SRS Emergency Management Program.

The political and economic upheavals which have taken place in Eastern Europe have had an impact on radiation and nuclear safety throughout Europe. Emergency preparedness systems for unexpected nuclear events have been developed further in all European countries, and prosperous western nations have invested in improving the safety of East European nuclear power plants. The economic crisis facing countries of the former Soviet Union has also promoted illicit trade in nuclear materials; this has made it necessary for various border guards and police authorities to intensify their collaboration and to tighten border controls. On 3-4 October 1995, Finnish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety (STUK) arranged a seminar on nuclear threats and emergency preparedness in Finland. In addition to STUK experts, a wide range of rescue and civil defence authorities, environmental health specialists and other persons engaged in emergency preparedness attended the seminar. The publication contains a compilation of reports presented at the seminar. The reports cover a broad spectrum of nuclear threats analyzed at STUK, the impacts of radioactive fallout on human beings and on the environment, and preparedness systems by which the harmful effects of radiation or nuclear accidents can, if necessary, be minimized. (33 figs., 5 tabs.).

Full Text Available Within the secondary impacts of electricity blackouts, it is necessary to pay attention to facilities providing medical care for the population, namely the hospitals. Hospitals represent a key position in the provision of health care also in times of crisis. These facilities must provide constant care; it is therefore essential that the preparedness of such facilities is kept at a high level. The basic aim of this article is to analyse the preparedness of hospitals to power outages (power failures, blackouts within a pilot study. On that basis, a SWOT analysis is used to determine strengths and weaknesses of the system of preparedness of hospitals to power outages and solutions for better security of hospitals are defined. The sample investigated consists of four hospitals founded by the Regional Authority (hospitals Nos. 1-4 and one hospital founded by the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic (hospital No. 5. The results of the study shows that most weaknesses of the preparedness of hospitals are represented by inadequately addressed reserves of fuel for the main backup power supply, poor knowledge of employees who are insufficiently retrained, and old backup power supplies (even 35 years in some cases.

The State Library of Ohio designed this disaster preparedness plan to assist small libraries in gathering information that will be invaluable in the event of an emergency. This plan, which focuses on fire and water disaster prevention, is devoted to using simple and inexpensive measures to prevent a disaster or to lessen its effect. The plan…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the competencies of culturally responsive teaching and construct a Culturally Responsive Teacher Preparedness Scale (CRTPS) for the use of teacher preparation programs and preservice teachers. Competencies listed in the scale were identified through literature reviews and input from experts. The…

A study of emergency preparedness capabilities at DOE facilities was initiated following the incident at the Three Mile Island (TMI) Nuclear Power Station. It was designed to parallel but expand on a study on emergency preparedness instrumentation that was conducted in 1970 by Pacific Northwest Laboratory. The 1970 survey findings led to the publication of four reports on performance criteria for radiological emergency instrumentation. Three of these reports - BNWL-1635 (Selby et al. 1972), BNWL-1742 (Anderson et al. 1974) and BNWL-1857 (Andersen et al. 1976) - addressed the criteria for emergency instrumentation at reactors, mixed oxide fuel fabrication plants, and fuel reprocessing plants, respectively. The fourth report, BNWL-1991 (Bramson et al. 1976), addressed evaluation testing and calibration methodology for these instruments. This report is presented in three parts. Part One is a review of the BNWL documents to determine whether they are applicable to state-of-the-art instrument capabilities. The Appendix to Part One provides a comparison between the instrument performance criteria established in BNWL-1991 to applicable American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards for portable survey and contamination meters, installed radiation and area monitors, effluent monitors, calibration techniques, criticality detection systems, alarm systems, and direct reading dosimeters. Part Two compares the 1970 survey results with the 1980 survey results to identify trends in emergency preparedness. Part Three is a discussion of the results of the 1980 emergency preparedness survey and the supporting data for each of the 15 modules. 8 references. (ACR)

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a tornado disaster on the personal preparedness of local residents to determine (1) to what extent the tornado outbreak experience had altered preparedness awareness, willingness to act, and levels of personal preparedness of residents as measured by possession of a preparedness kit; and (2) what effect this experience had on the variables associated with having a complete disaster preparedness kit. Two random digit-dialed surveys were completed following the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System protocols. The pre-tornado survey was conducted between October and December 2010 and the post-tornado survey was conducted between January and March 2012. After the April 2011 tornado outbreak, 86.08% of the respondents (n = 1364) reported that they had thought more about personal or family preparedness and 59.65% (n = 907) reported that they had taken actions to increase their level of preparedness. Overall, general awareness of preparedness media campaigns increased significantly (almost 24%; P < .0001), as did the percentage of those having a complete disaster preparedness kit (a 66% increase, not quite doubled from 2010 to 2012; P < .0001). Findings of the study indicate that the disaster had a significant impact on the local residents' (1) awareness of preparedness campaigns, (2) awareness of the need to be prepared, (3) willingness to become better prepared, and (4) possession of a disaster and emergency preparedness kit and its associated items.

Full Text Available Background: Upon graduation, newly qualified speech-language therapists are expected to provide services independently. This study describes new graduates’ perceptions of their preparedness to provide services across the scope of the profession and explores associations between perceptions of dysphagia theory and clinical learning curricula with preparedness for adult and paediatric dysphagia service delivery.Methods: New graduates of six South African universities were recruited to participate in a survey by completing an electronic questionnaire exploring their perceptions of the dysphagia curricula and their preparedness to practise across the scope of the profession of speechlanguage therapy. Results: Eighty graduates participated in the study yielding a response rate of 63.49%. Participants perceived themselves to be well prepared in some areas (e.g. child language: 100%; articulation and phonology: 97.26%, but less prepared in other areas (e.g. adult dysphagia: 50.70%; paediatric dysarthria: 46.58%; paediatric dysphagia: 38.36% and most unprepared to provide services requiring sign language (23.61% and African languages (20.55%. There was a significant relationship between perceptions of adequate theory and clinical learning opportunities with assessment and management of dysphagia and perceptions of preparedness to provide dysphagia services. Conclusion: There is a need for review of existing curricula and consideration of developing a standard speech-language therapy curriculum across universities, particularly in service provision to a multilingual population, and in both the theory and clinical learning of the assessment and management of adult and paediatric dysphagia, to better equip graduates for practice.

The Disaster Preparedness Education Unit (DPEU) at Bogazici University's Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute (KOERI) that was iestablished after 1999 Kocaeli earthquake and has been continuing to develop high-quality curricula and training materials for community-focused disaster preparedness education through countrywide. The unit works to build bridges between scientists, academics and technical experts in this field, and the people who need access to knowledge to reduce their risk from disasters and develops disaster preparedness training materials, organizes and conducts teacher trainings, and participates in research activities on these topics. DPEU also accommodates the Earthquake Park, where training courses are supported with an earthquake simulator. It hosts more then 4000 students every year for training of how to behave before, during and after an earthquake occurs. In addition to theoretical knowledge, simulation of isolated and fix based 10 storey building models were created at Earthquake Park for rising student's structural awareness . The unit also is involving many national and international projects. DPEU is very actively involved the recent international MarDIM (Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster Mitigation an the Marmara Region and Disaster Education in Turkey) Project which is performing by many Turkish and Japanese institution h and produced the tsunami education booklet, video, a cartoon movie and serviced many training of Earthquake Park. DPEU has also a Mobile Earthquake Simulation Training Truck developed in 2007, aiming to create a stage for community awareness for the earthquake preparedness and to change the common wrong perception and ignorance on the natural event of earthquakes. 500 thousands people have been trained by simulation truck all over Turkey within 5 years. DPEU just started to train the house wifes located in Marmara region on earthquake and tsunami preparedness with the collaboration of several

Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent international and national events have brought critical attention to the Canadian public health system and how prepared the system is to respond to various types of contemporary public health threats. This article describes the study design and methods being used to conduct a systems-level analysis of public health preparedness in the province of Alberta, Canada. The project is being funded under the Health Research Fund, Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research. Methods/Design We use an embedded, multiple-case study design, integrating qualitative and quantitative methods to measure empirically the degree of inter-organizational coordination existing among public health agencies in Alberta, Canada. We situate our measures of inter-organizational network ties within a systems-level framework to assess the relative influence of inter-organizational ties, individual organizational attributes, and institutional environmental features on public health preparedness. The relative contribution of each component is examined for two potential public health threats: pandemic influenza and West Nile virus. Discussion The organizational dimensions of public health preparedness depend on a complex mix of individual organizational characteristics, inter-agency relationships, and institutional environmental factors. Our study is designed to discriminate among these different system components and assess the independent influence of each on the other, as well as the overall level of public health preparedness in Alberta. While all agree that competent organizations and functioning networks are important components of public health preparedness, this study is one of the first to use formal network analysis to study the role of inter-agency networks in the development of prepared public health systems.

Full Text Available Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are capable of expanding access to quality education, educational resources and provide teachers with new skills. Nevertheless, a majority of rural public schools have limited ICTs, mainly due...

Grey literature Web resources in the field of accelerator science and its allied subjects are collected for the scientists and engineers of RRCAT (Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology). For definition purposes the different types of grey literature are described. The Web resources collected and compiled in this article (with an overview and link for each) specifically focus on technical reports, preprints or e-prints, which meet the main information needs of RRCAT users.

Community-based disaster preparedness (CBDP) approaches are increasingly important elements of vulnerability reduction and disaster management strategies. They are associated with a policy trend that values the knowledge and capacities of local people and builds on local resources, including social capital. CBDP may be instrumental not only in formulating local coping and adaptation strategies, but also in situating them within wider development planning and debates. In theory, local people can be mobilised to resist unsustainable (vulnerability increasing) forms of development or livelihood practices and to raise local concerns more effectively with political representatives. This paper focuses on the potential of CBDP initiatives to alleviate vulnerability in the context of climate change, and their limitations. It presents evidence from the Philippines that, in the limited forms in which they are currently employed, CBDP initiatives have the potential both to empower and disempower, and warns against treating CBDP as a panacea to disaster management problems.

When a disaster occurs, it is for governments to provide the leadership, civil defense, security, evacuation, and public welfare. The medical aspects of a disaster account for less than 10% of resource and personnel expenditure. Hospitals and health care provider teams respond to unexpected occurrences such as explosions, earthquakes, floods, fires, war, or the outbreak of an infectious epidemic. In some geographic locations where natural disasters are common, such as earthquakes in Japan, such disaster practice drills are common. In other locations, disaster drills become pro forma and have no similarity to real or even projected and predicted disasters. The World Trade Center disaster on 11 September 2001 provides new information, and points out new threats, new information systems, new communication opportunities, and new detection methodologies. It is time for leaders of medicine to re-examine their approaches to disaster preparedness.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of information technology (IT) on emergency preparedness and planning by analysing a survey of US state government departments of emergency management. The research results show that there has been a significant impact of IT on emergency planning. IT has proven to be effective for all phases of emergency management, but especially for the response phase. There are numerous technologies used in emergency management, ranging from the internet, Geographic Information Systems and wireless technologies to more advanced hazard analysis models. All were generally viewed as being effective. Lack of financial resources and support from elected officials is a perennial problem in public administration, and was found to be prevalent in this study of IT and emergency management. There was evidence that state governments rating high on a performance index were more likely to use IT for emergency management.

电子资源许可使用在我国发展时间较短，在其建立过程中还存在许可定价、购买模式、馆际互借以及电子资源的长期保存许可方式等难题。电子资源许可使用的发展与创新，需要根据用户需求制定发展战略，建立图书馆的读者监督管理制度和数字化资源服务制度，规范文献编目制度等，以提高电子信息资源与图书馆信息资源的使用效果和广泛的使用需求% It's been a short time since the use of electronicresource licenses has developed in China; in addition, many problems ap-pear in the establishment process in terms of license pricing, purchase pattern, inter-library loan and long-term preservation ways of electronicresources. In order to develop and innovate the use of the license, libraries should develop strategies in accordance with the users' needs, establish a reader supervision system and a digital resource service system, and normalize the document cataloging sys-tem to enhance the utilization effect and meet the extensive demand for electronic and library information resources.

Full Text Available Abstract Background In current supervisory practice, the learning environment in which the training of specialist registrars (SpRs takes place is important. Examples of such learning environments are the hospital settings and/or geographical locations where training occurs. Our objective was to investigate whether the cultural climate of different learning environments influences physicians' perceived level of competence and preparedness for practice. Methods An electronic questionnaire was sent to an equal group of paediatricians who had trained in clinical settings located in Europe and the Caribbean. 30 items (Likert scale 1–4 = totally disagree-totally agree were used to measure the level of preparedness of the respondents in 7 physician competencies. Results 42 participants were included for analysis. The distribution of participants in both groups was comparable. The overall perception of preparedness in the Caribbean group was 2.93 (SD = 0.47 and 2.86 (SD = 0.72 in the European group. The European group felt less prepared in the competency as manager 1.81 (SD = 1.06 compared to their Caribbean counterparts 2.72 (SD = 0.66. The difference was significant (p = 0.006. Conclusion The training in the different environments was perceived as adequate and comparable in effect. The learning environment's cultural climate appeared to influence the physician's perception of their competencies and preparedness for clinical practice.

Full Text Available Objective – To determine if electronic information resources selected by primary care physicians improve their ability to answer simulated clinical questions.Design – An observational study utilizing hour‐long interviews and think‐aloud protocols.Setting – The offices and clinics of primary care physicians in Canada and the United States.Subjects – Twenty‐five primary care physicians of whom 4 were women, 17 were from Canada, 22 were family physicians,and 24 were board certified.Methods – Participants provided responses to 23 multiple‐choice questions. Each physician then chose two questions and looked for the answers utilizing information resources of their own choice. The search processes, chosen resources and search times were noted. These were analyzed along with data on the accuracy of the answers and certainties related to the answer to each clinical question prior to the search.Main results – Twenty‐three physicians sought answers to 46 simulated clinical questions. Utilizing only electronic information resources, physicians spent a mean of 13.0 (SD 5.5 minutes searching for answers to the questions, an average of 7.3(SD 4.0 minutes for the first question and 5.8 (SD 2.2 minutes to answer the second question. On average, 1.8 resources were utilized per question. Resources that summarized information, such as the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, UpToDate and Clinical Evidence, were favored 39.2% of the time, MEDLINE (Ovid and PubMed 35.7%, and Internet resources including Google 22.6%. Almost 50% of the search and retrieval strategies were keyword‐based, while MeSH, subheadings and limiting were used less frequently. On average, before searching physicians answered 10 of 23 (43.5% questions accurately. For questions that were searched using clinician‐selected electronicresources, 18 (39.1% of the 46 answers were accurate before searching, while 19 (42.1% were accurate after searching. The difference of

To achieve effective emergency management and business continuity, all hazards should be considered during the planning and preparedness process. In recent years, several new hazards have attracted the attention of Emergency Management and Business Continuity practitioners. Climate change presents a unique challenge. Practitioners must rely on historical data combined with scientific projections to guide their planning and preparedness efforts. This article examines how an academic institution's emergency management programme can plan successfully for this hazard by focusing on best practices in the area of building cross-departmental and cross-jurisdictional relationships. Examples of scientific data related to the hazard of climate change will be presented along with the latest guidance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency encouraging the planning for future hazards. The article presents a functional exercise in which this hazard was prominently featured, and presents testimony from subject matter experts. Recommendations for emergency management and business continuity programmes are so provided.

Guidelines to Improve Airport Preparedness Against Chemical and Biological Terrorism is a 100-page document that makes concrete recommendations on improving security and assessing vulnerable areas and helps its readers understand the nature of chemical and biological attacks. The report has been turned over to Airports Council International (ACI) and the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), two organizations that together represent the interests of thousands of airport personnel and facilities in the U.S. and around the world.

Preparedness of teachers to work with pupils with a need of supportive measures and especially with pupils who live and grow up in socially excluded localities, is very low. Quantitatively oriented research investigation8, carried out in 13 regions of the Czech Republic with the sample size of 2005 respondents, offers results that raise doubts towards the inclusively oriented primary education. The teachers are not ready for the phenomenon. This paper focuses on attitudinal constructs of the ...

In California officials of state, federal, and local governments have coordinated to implement a Tsunami Preparedness and Mitigation Program. Building upon past preparedness efforts carried out year-round this group has leveraged government support at all levels. A primary goal is for everyone who lives at or visits the coast to understand basic life-safety measures when responding to official tsunami alerts or natural warnings. Preparedness actions include: observation of National Tsunami Preparedness Week, local "tsunami walk" drills, scenario-based exercises, testing of notification systems for public alert messaging, outreach materials, workshops, presentations, and media events.Program partners have worked together to develop emergency operations, evacuation plans, and tsunami annexes to plans for counties, cities, communities, and harbors in 20 counties along the coast. Working with the state and federal partner agencies, coastal communities have begun to incorporate sophisticated tsunami "Playbook" scenario information into their planning. These innovative tsunami evacuation and response tools provide detailed evacuation maps and associated real-time response information for identifying areas where flooding could occur. This is critical information for evacuating populations on land, near the shoreline.Acting on recommendations from the recent USGS-led, multi-discipline Science Application for Risk Reduction Tsunami Scenario report on impacts to California and American Society of Civil Engineering adoption proposals to the International Building Code, the state has begun to develop a strategy to incorporate probabilistic tsunami findings into state level policy recommendations for addressing building code adoption, as well as approach land use planning and building code implementation in local jurisdictions. Additional efforts, in the context of sustained community resiliency, include developing recovery planning guidance for local communities.

Children are the members of our population who are most vulnerable to the effects of a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive (CBRNE) attack. It has been over 12 years since 9/11 and the majority of clinicians who would be providing care to children in the event of another attack still lack the requisite disaster preparedness training. The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the recent developments that will enable the affordable creation of key CBRNE educati...

After the events of September 11, 2001, federal funding for state public health preparedness programs increased from $67 million in fiscal year (FY) 2001 to approximately $1 billion in FY 2002. These funds were intended to support preparedness for and response to terrorism, infectious disease outbreaks, and other public health threats and emergencies. The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) assessed the impact of funding on epidemiologic capacity, including terrorism preparedness and response, in state health departments in November 2001 and again in May 2004, after distribution of an additional $1 billion in FY 2003. This report describes the results of those assessments, which indicated that increased funding for terrorism preparedness and emergency response has rapidly increased the number of epidemiologists and increased capacity for preparedness at the state level. However, despite the increase in epidemiologists, state public health officials estimate that 192 additional epidemiologists, an increase of 45.3%, are needed nationwide to fully staff terrorism preparedness programs.

Increasing society's ability to mitigate risks is one of the major goals of geohazard research. Therefore part of tsunami science research must be finding effective ways to communicate scientific findings to the public to be used in community preparedness plans. The "Cascadia EarthScope Earthquake and Tsunami Education Program" (CEETEP; ceetep.oregonstate.edu) has worked to bridge the gap between scientific researchers and the public by providing professional development workshops for educators from coastal communities in Oregon, Washington, and northern California. CEETEP translates cutting edge EarthScope and other geoscience research into educational resources appropriate for K-12 teachers, park and museum interpreters, and emergency management outreach educators and their learners. Local educators have the potential to reach a wide segment of coastal residents. The tsunami generated by the next Great Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake will arrive only 10-30 minutes after shaking, making mitigation and community-wide education an imperative. An essential component of CEETEP is collaboration with experts in science, pedagogy, and emergency preparedness. CEETEP provided two 4-day workshops and a follow-up Share-a-thon each year for three years (2013-2015). 151 educators participated in the program. Results from CEETEP are very encouraging. Participant content knowledge improved from 49% to 82% over the course of the workshop. Similarly, confidence in teaching about workshop topics increased from an average of 3.0 to 5.3 on a 6-point scale. Participant optimism about the efficacy and tractability of community-level planning also increased from 6.1 to 7.8 on a 9-point scale. Nearly 90% of participants continued to be active with the program through their March Share-a-thon and presented on a wide range of activities that they and their learners undertook related to earthquake and tsunami science and preparedness. Participants were also quite favorable about the

Investigated e- waste collection system the investigation, the whereabouts and electronic waste disposal in Httizhou city, the paper analyzed the Huizhou city e- waste collection and disposal of a series of problems, combined with the actual, conceived urban electronic waste resources management mode.%通过对惠州市电子废弃物收集体系组成、去向以及电子废弃物处置方式的调查,分析惠州市电子废弃物收集和处置存在的一系列问题,结合实际提出了城市电子废弃物资源化管理模式的初步构想。

This article seeks to draw possible lessons for adaptation programmes in Bangladesh by examining whether cyclone preparedness and relief interventions are subject to corrupt practices. Based on a random sample survey of 278 households, three focus-group discussions and seven key-informant intervi......This article seeks to draw possible lessons for adaptation programmes in Bangladesh by examining whether cyclone preparedness and relief interventions are subject to corrupt practices. Based on a random sample survey of 278 households, three focus-group discussions and seven key......-informant interviews, the article investigates the nature and extent of corruption in pre- and post-disaster interventions in Khulna before and after Cyclone Aila in May 2009. Ninety nine percent of households reported losses from corrupt practices. Post-disaster interventions (such as food aid and public works...... schemes) suffered from greater levels, and worse types, of corruption than pre-disaster interventions (such as cyclone warning systems and disaster-preparedness training). Using an asset index created using principal component analysis, the article assesses how corruption affected wealth quartiles. Ultra...

Children account for 30 percent of the US population; as a result, many victims of disaster events are children. The most critically injured pediatric victims would be best cared for in a tertiary care pediatric hospital. The Children's Hospital Association (CHA) undertook a survey of its members to determine their level of readiness to respond to a mass casualty disaster. The Disaster Response Task Force constructed survey questions in October 2011. The survey was distributed via e-mail to the person listed as an "emergency manager/disaster contact" at each association member hospital and was designed to take less than 15 minutes to complete. The survey sought to determine how children's hospitals address disaster preparedness, how prepared they feel for disaster events, and how CHA could support their efforts in preparedness. One hundred seventy-nine surveys were distributed with a 36 percent return rate. Seventy percent of respondent hospitals have a structure in place to plan for disaster response. There was a stronger level of confidence for hospitals in responding to local casualty events than for those responding to large-scale regional, national, and international events. Few hospitals appear to interact with nonmedical facilities with a high concentration of children such as schools or daycares. Little commonality exists among children's hospitals in approaches to disaster preparedness and response. Universally, respondents can identify a disaster response plan and routinely participate in drills, but the scale and scope of these plans and drills vary substantially.

Children are the members of our population who are most vulnerable to the effects of a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive (CBRNE) attack. It has been over 12 years since 9/11 and the majority of clinicians who would be providing care to children in the event of another attack still lack the requisite disaster preparedness training. The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the recent developments that will enable the affordable creation of key CBRNE educational and just in time material. In 2011, the National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health (NCDMPH) convened a pediatric disaster preparedness conference. Much of the initial groundwork for development of a pediatric disaster preparedness curriculum, including the identification of target audiences and requisite role specific CBRNE curriculum content, was the product of this conference. Much of the needed pediatric education and training content for the diagnosis and treatment of the injurious effects of CBRNE has recently been both developed and well vetted. Bringing together these efforts in an educational program will result in a workforce that is better trained and prepared to address the needs of children impacted by these types of disasters. PMID:25587241

Results: Total study participants were 36 (100% response rate. Majority (83% were aware about the two leading causes of maternal mortality (PE, PPH. Twenty four (67% knew the warning signs of eclampsia and 61% knew the signs of eclampsia but only 17% were aware of MgSO4 toxicity. Only 56% could correctly prepare the loading dose of MgSO4. All were aware about PPH; however only17% knew methergine as the drug for active management. Grossly wrong attitude noted only in 27% for PPH and 27% for severe PE. Overall preparedness for emergency was satisfactory in LR and PNC. Conclusions: Though the overall awareness for identifying emergencies (PE, PPH was satisfactory, lacunae in awareness were noted about components of eclampsia, magnesium toxicity and drugs required for initial management of PE and PPH. Preparedness of nurses in labour room and postnatal ward was fairly good. Regular assessment of awareness and preparedness for obstetric emergencies would be desirable to optimize the overall delivery outcomes especially at peripheral rural centres where nurses are primarily involved in the care of labouring women. [Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol 2016; 5(4.000: 998-1001

Whilst healthcare is the biggest service industry on the globe, it has yet to realise the full potential of the e-business revolution in the form of e-health. This is due to many reasons including the fact that the healthcare industry is faced with many complex challenges in trying to deliver cost-effective, high-value, accessible healthcare and has traditionally been slow to embrace new business techniques and technologies. Given that e-health, to a great extent, is a macro level concern that has far reaching micro level implications, this paper firstly develops a framework to assess a country's preparedness with respect to embracing e-health (the application of e-commerce to healthcare) and from this an e-health preparedness grid to facilitate the assessment of any e-health initiative. Taken together, the integrative framework and preparedness grid provide useful and necessary tools to enable successful e-health initiatives to ensue by helping country and/or an organisation within a country to identify and thus address areas that require further attention in order for it to undertake a successful e-health initiative.

The objective is to describe by geographic proximity the extent to which the US pediatric population (aged 0-17 years) has access to pediatric and other specialized critical care facilities, and to highlight regional differences in population and critical resource distribution for preparedness planning and utilization during a mass public health disaster. The analysis focused on pediatric hospitals and pediatric and general medical/surgical hospitals with specialized pediatric critical care capabilities, including pediatric intensive care units (PICU), pediatric cardiac ICUs (PCICU), level I and II trauma and pediatric trauma centers, and general and pediatric burn centers. The proximity analysis uses a geographic information system overlay function: spatial buffers or zones of a defined radius are superimposed on a dasymetric map of the pediatric population. By comparing the population living within the zones to the total population, the proportion of children with access to each type of specialized unit can be estimated. The project was conducted in three steps: preparation of the geospatial layer of the pediatric population using dasymetric mapping methods; preparation of the geospatial layer for each resource zone including the identification, verification, and location of hospital facilities with the target resources; and proximity analysis of the pediatric population within these zones. Nationally, 63.7% of the pediatric population lives within 50 miles of a pediatric hospital; 81.5% lives within 50 miles of a hospital with a PICU; 76.1% lives within 50 miles of a hospital with a PCICU; 80.2% lives within 50 miles of a level I or II trauma center; and 70.8% lives within 50 miles of a burn center. However, state-specific proportions vary from less than 10% to virtually 100%. Restricting the burn and trauma centers to pediatric units only decreases the national proportion to 26.3% for pediatric burn centers and 53.1% for pediatric trauma centers. This

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) Region 6 Transportation Emergency Preparedness Program Plan (TEPP Plan) operates within the framework of the DOE emergency management system for developing, coordinating, and directing emergency planning, preparedness, and readiness assurance activities for radiological transportation incidents. The DOE Region 6 TEPP Plan is a narrative description of the DOE Transportation Emergency Preparedness Program activities, training and technical assistance provided to states and tribes along DOE's transportation corridors in DOE Region 6.

Purpose: This study aims to examine the accessibility and use of web-based electronic databases on the Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative (HINARI) portal by physicians in the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro--a psychiatry health institution in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach: Collection of data was through the use of a three-part…

Medical students often struggle to apply their nascent clinical skills in clerkships. While transitional clerkships can orient students to new roles and logistics, students may benefit from developing clinical skills in inpatient environments earlier in their curriculum to improve readiness for clerkships. Our four- to six-session elective provides pre-clerkship students with individualized learning in the inpatient setting with the aim of improving clerkship preparedness. Students work one-on-one with faculty who facilitate individualized learning through mentoring, deliberate practice, and directed feedback. Second-year medical students are placed on an attending-only, traditionally 'non-teaching' service in the hospital medicine division of a Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital for half-day sessions. Most students self-select into the elective following a class-wide advertisement. The elective also accepts students who are referred for remediation of their clinical skills. In the elective's first two years, 25 students participated and 47 students were waitlisted. We compared participant and waitlisted (non-participant) students' self-efficacy in several clinical and professional domains during their first clerkship. Elective participants reported significantly higher clerkship preparedness compared to non-participants in the areas of physical exam, oral presentation, and formulation of assessments and plans. Students found the one-on-one feedback and personalized attention from attending physicians to be a particularly useful aspect of the course. This frequently cited benefit points to students' perceived needs and the value they place on individualized feedback. Our innovation harnesses an untapped resource - the hospital medicine 'non-teaching' service - and serves as an attainable option for schools interested in enhancing early clinical skill-building for all students, including those recommended for remediation. A&P: Assessment and plan; H&P: History and

To evaluate the acceptance and usefulness of a hospital-based tabletop bioterrorism exercise. A descriptive study of responses to a smallpox scenario delivered as a tabletop exercise in three modules. A large, multi-institutional urban health system. Healthcare workers representing 16 hospital departments. Thirty-nine (78%) of 50 invited employees from 4 hospitals participated. Key responses highlighted the importance of pre-event planning in intra-departmental communication, identification of resources for the dependents of healthcare workers, clarification of the chain of command within the hospital, establishment of a link to key governmental agencies, and advanced identification of negative pressure rooms for cohorting large numbers of patients. Almost one-fourth of the participants described their hospital department as poorly prepared for a bioterrorism event of moderate size. At the conclusion of the tabletop, 79% of the participants stated that the exercise had increased their knowledge of preplanning activities. Seventy-nine percent of all participants, 94% of physicians and nurses, and 95% of participants from non-university hospitals ranked the exercise as extremely or very useful. The exercise was completed in 3 1/2 hours and its total direct cost (excluding lost time from work) was 225 dollars (U.S.). Tabletop exercises are a feasible, well-accepted modality for hospital bioterrorism preparedness training. Hospital employees, including physicians and nurses, rank this method as highly useful for guiding preplanning activities. Infection control staff and hospital epidemiologists should play a lead role in hospital preparedness activities. Further assessment of the optimal duration, type, and frequency of tabletop exercises is needed.

Full Text Available Malaysia is affected by moderate environmental disasters but seldom affected by severe disaster. Cameron Highland mud floods 2013, Hulu Langat landslide 2011, tsunami 2004 and Highland Tower 1993 are some of environmental disaster in Malaysia. Some of these disasters carry heavy price tags as property and lives are damaged beyond full compensation and repair and health effects as well. This paper was focused on environmental disaster in Malaysia with reference to flood and landslide. The scope of this paper is to provide input for a clearer understanding of these disasters and how public could be safe from these hazards with preparedness strategies. This paper involved with secondary data collected from journal, proceedings, books, related agencies and internet sources as well. Normally, humankind is capable of saving their self and Earth as well, if they recover the principles of solidarity, complementarity and harmony with nature in contraposition to the reign of competition, profits and rampant consumption of natural resources. They also must strongly support a sustainable development and a sustainable land use concept in order to sustain the environment from degrades. In addition, community-based disaster preparedness is essential in preventing and responding to the full array of environmental disasters in keeping human losses as low as possible. Ways must be found to ensure that a community is strengthened, becoming less fragile and less susceptible to environmental disaster impact. In addition, community needs to be assist in order to survive despite receiving the impact of severe disasters. Keywords: Environmental disaster, Malaysia, Human activity

Full Text Available The Scottish electronic Staff Development Library (http://www.sesdl.scotcit.acuk is an ongoing collaborative project involving the Universities of Edinburgh, Paisley and Strathclyde which has been funded by SHEFC as part of their current ScotCIT Programme (http:llwww.scotcit.ac.uk. This project is being developed in response to the increasing demand for flexible, high-quality staff development materials.

Operational systems predict the consequences of atmospheric releases of hazardous materials for real-time emergency response, pre-event planning, and post-incident assessment. Such systems provide federal, state, and local agencies, emergency planners and responders, public health officials, military personnel, and other users with critical information on which to base life-and-death decisions on safe zones for siting of incident command posts, sheltering-in-place or evacuation advisories, the need for protective equipment, and the utilization of hospital and health care resources. A range of operational modeling capabilities is required to support different types of release events, distance scales, and response times. Fast-response deployable models are used to perform hazard assessments and initial response functions, and can serve as a backup when connections to a reach-back center are not available. Higher-fidelity three-dimensional dispersion models, coupled to real-time observational data and numerical weather prediction model output, are used for real-time response and support expert quality-assured predictions and refined assessments. Computational fluid dynamics models, which explicitly resolve urban structures, are used for high fidelity applications including vulnerability analyses and planning studies. This paper will briefly discuss the types and capabilities of models used or under development for emergency response systems, customer products, supporting data, and a few representative examples of operational systems. Some selected research priorities are summarized in the final sections.

In the information society, Electronic document resources are very important for library development and the school's teaching and research. The university library should pay more at ention to the construction of electronic document resources. Through the survey of the electronic document resources in Chongqing, We have mastered the distribution of electronic document resources, analyzed the existing problems in resource construction, and proposed the related countermeasure. We hope to provide reference for the electronic document resources construction.%在信息社会，电子文献资源对高校图书馆建设、学校的教学与科研都起到非常重要的作用，各高校图书馆应该更加重视电子文献资源的建设。通过对重庆高校图书馆电子文献资源建设情况进行调查，掌握了本地区电子文献资源的分布情况，分析了资源建设中存在的问题，并提出了相关对策，希望为本地区高校图书馆电子文献资源建设提供参考。

Within the framework of the Nordic Nuclear Safety Research (NKS) programme four subprojects were carried out in order to assist the Nodic authorities in improving emergency response. The present report is a summary of all four subprojects; full reports of each subproject are or will be published separately. In the field of mobile measurements an exercise was carried out on Rapid Environmental Surveying using Mobile Equipment (RESUME95) in Finland in August 1995. The main purposes were to test the ability of existing airborne (10 teams), carborne (7 teams) and in situ instruments (from 8 countries) to map contaminated areas (due to the Chernobyl accident) and to establish the comparability of results obtained with different systems. Preliminary analysis showed that major features of the spatial distribution of the contaminants were identified by all teams, but that significant variations in absolute figures were observed. Quantitative analyses were undertaken to assess the comparability of the results, and the need for further development was identified. Quality assurance in sampling and analysis mainly addressed quality assurance in various aspects of gamma-ray spectroscopy with accreditation as a goal. Several details were examined; e.g. the possibility of adopting some joint reference sample geometries in the Nordic countries, the need for improving software for processing gamma-ray spectra, comparability of whole-body measurements and problems in reporting, storing and exchange of electronic data. (SM)

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing a final regulation that requires the submission to FDA of prior notice of food, including animal feed, that is imported or offered for import into the United States. The final rule implements the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (the Bioterrorism Act), which required prior notification of imported food to begin on December 12, 2003. The final rule requires that the prior notice be submitted to FDA electronically via either the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP or Customs) Automated Broker Interface (ABI) of the Automated Commercial System (ACS) or the FDA Prior Notice System Interface (FDA PNSI). The information must be submitted and confirmed electronically as facially complete by FDA for review no less than 8 hours (for food arriving by water), 4 hours (for food arriving by air or land/rail), and 2 hours (for food arriving by land/road) before the food arrives at the port of arrival. Food imported or offered for import without adequate prior notice is subject to refusal and, if refused, must be held. Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, FDA is announcing the availability of a draft compliance policy guide (CPG) entitled "Sec. 110.310 Prior Notice of Imported Food Under the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002."

The catastrophic flood occurred in Serbia in 2014 was one of the most critical events registered in the Balkan area in the last decades. The procedures for evacuation have been tough to manage indicating a low level of perception and preparedness towards flood events. Also, the failure in the response phase showed a gender unbalance, where information did not reach men and women equally. Urgently, the Council for Gender Equality Government of the Republic of Serbia held an extraordinary meeting dedicated to the flood planning and emergency support in a gendered perspective. It concluded with the necessity of developing more gender-sensitive statistics, indicators of vulnerability, reconstruction and recovery to floods. For these reasons, we conducted an extensive interview to underlined the differences in risk perception and preparedness actions of both women and men regarding flood events in Serbia. 2500 face-to-face interviews have been conducted in 27 out of 150 municipalities being a good representative sample of the country with the use of a multi-stage random sample. The research findings indicated that is a gender disparity among men and women both in the perception than in the preparedness actions toward floods. Men seemed to be more confident in their abilities to cope with flooding, assessing a greater individual and household preparedness. This could be ascribable to their active involvement in the army where young men were educated to manage emergency situations. They displayed more trust in themselves rather than external agencies or organisation, and this could result in a general mistrust on institutions and planned evacuations. On the other hand, women displayed larger sensitivity and knowledge to these events, however, this did not translate into a capacity to react. It has been assumed that their work as child-carers and housekeepers made them unable to create a strong social network within the community being less informed and involved in the

Damages caused by natural hazards can be reduced not only by protection, management and intervention activities, but also by information and communication to improve awareness and preparedness of local communities and tourists. Risk communication is particularly crucial for mountainous areas, such as the Ubaye Valley (France), as they are affected by multiple hazards and are particularly sensitive to the potential effects of climate and socio-economic changes which may increase the risk associated with natural hazards significantly. An exhibition is a powerful tool to communicate with the general public. It allows1: (1) targeting specific audiences, (2) transmitting technical and scientific knowledge using a suitable language, (3) anchoring the collective memory of past events, (4) visualize and emotionalize the topic of natural hazards, (5) strengthening the communication between peers, and (6) highlighting local resources and knowledge. In addition to these theoretical advantages, an exhibition may fulfill the requirements of a community. In the Ubaye Valley (France), this tool was proposed by the stakeholders themselves to increase awareness and preparedness of the general public. To meet this demand, the exhibition was designed following three general topics: (1) the natural phenomena and their potential consequences on the elements at risk, (2) the management and protection measures (individual and collective) and (3) the evolution of events and knowledge throughout past up to the present and the anticipation of the future situations. Besides being a real risk communication practice, this exhibition will be the setting for an extensive research project studying the effect of the use of visualization tools on the awareness and preparedness of a community. A wide range of visuals (photos, videos, maps, models, animations, multimedia, etc.) will present many dimensions of locally occurring natural hazards and risk problems. The aim of the research is (1) to

Full Text Available Background: The recent Ebola virus disease (EVD outbreak has been described as unprecedented in terms of morbidity, mortality, and geographical extension. It also revealed many weaknesses and inadequacies for disease surveillance and response systems in Africa due to underqualified staff, cultural beliefs, and lack of trust for the formal health care sector. In 2014, Ghana had high risk of importation of EVD cases. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the EVD surveillance and response system in northern Ghana. Design: This was an observational study conducted among 47 health workers (district directors, medical, disease control, and laboratory officers in all 13 districts of the Upper East Region representing public, mission, and private health services. A semi-structured questionnaire with focus on core and support functions (e.g. detection, confirmation was administered to the informants. Their responses were recorded according to specific themes. In addition, 34 weekly Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response reports (August 2014 to March 2015 were collated from each district. Results: In 2014 and 2015, a total of 10 suspected Ebola cases were clinically diagnosed from four districts. Out of the suspected cases, eight died and the cause of death was unexplained. All the 10 suspected cases were reported, none was confirmed. The informants had knowledge on EVD surveillance and data reporting. However, there were gaps such as delayed reporting, low quality protective equipment (e.g. gloves, aprons, inadequate staff, and lack of laboratory capacity. The majority (38/47 of the respondents were not satisfied with EVD surveillance system and response preparedness due to lack of infrared thermometers, ineffective screening, and lack of isolation centres. Conclusion: EVD surveillance and response preparedness is insufficient and the epidemic is a wake-up call for early detection and response preparedness. Ebola surveillance remains

Full Text Available Safety and security are the most important issues to tourist while traveling and the first aspect they consider is to be protected from hazards. Emergency planning and preparedness for a crisis are the most significant components of dealing with disasters. Hospitality practitioners noticed a rising number of natural and man-made crises that harm the hospitality industry, regarding its vulnerability to crisis and internal and external hazards. By using secondary data, this study aims to shed some light on this issue, contributing to knowledge and awareness on emergency preparedness for the hospitality industry. Moreover, the study aims to explain the management’s commitment to adopt, develop, and update emergency plans. The results of this study explain that tourism as an international mobile industry must respond to internal and external hazards such as disease movement and terrorist attacks. Marketing safety is important to promote hotels and tourist destinations to the guests and holiday advisors. Hotels have a long history of being a soft target for terrorist attacks, as can be seen in several accidents that have shaken the hotel industry in the past few decades. Hotels invest a lot to install protective techniques, but terrorists are becoming more organized. Practitioners propose disaster management frameworks using several measurements. Recovery from crisis and learning help business retention that minimizes negative impacts and prevent losses. Finally, evaluation and feedback are very important to overcome the hazards and return to normal, as well as adopting new ideas to deal with emergencies. Single- and double-loop organizational learning should benefit proactive preparedness.

Full Text Available Objective: Effective response to biological events necessitates ongoing evaluation of preparedness. This study was a bilateral German-Israeli collaboration aimed at developing an evaluation tool for assessing preparedness of medical facilities for biological events.Methods: Measurable parameters were identified through a literature review for inclusion in the evaluation tool and disseminated to 228 content experts in 2 modified Delphi cycles. Focus groups were conducted to identify psychosocial needs of the medical teams. Table top and functional exercises were implemented to review applicability of the tool. Results: 117 experts from Germany and Israel participated in the modified Delphi. Out of 188 parameters that were identified, 183 achieved a consensus of >75% of the content experts. Following comments recommended in the Delphi cycles, and feedback from focus groups and hospital exercises, the final tool consisted of 172 parameters. Median level of importance of each parameter was calculated based on ranking recommended in the Delphi process. Computerized web-based software was developed to calculate scores of preparedness for biological events.Conclusions: Ongoing evaluation means, such as the tool developed in the study, can facilitate the need for a valid and reliable mechanism that may be widely adopted and implemented as quality assurance measures. The tool is based on measurable parameters and indicators that can effectively present strengths and weaknesses in managing a response to a public health threat, and accordingly, steps can be implemented to improve readiness. Adoption of such a tool is an important component of assuring public health and effective emergency management.Contact person regarding the evaluation tool: adinib@bgu.ac.ilLink to the computerized tool: http://www.be-prep.com/us

Students' preparedness for higher education is seen as one of the main factors affecting first-year attrition or study success. In this paper we report on a cross-national study in which students' preparedness for university was measured before students commenced their study at a university in New Z

Background: Disasters led not only to the loss of life and destruction of public infrastructures, but also resulted in consequent healthcare delivery concerns. Disaster preparedness is considered one of the key steps in emergency management. EMS students had very scanty knowledge, attitude and practices about disaster preparedness and mitigation.…

There has been conjecture that completing focused coursework units on classroom management during pre-service teacher preparation might lead to increased feelings of preparedness and confidence. This study reports the preparedness in managing specific problem behaviours, familiarity, and confidence in using management strategies and models of…

There has been conjecture that completing focused coursework units on classroom management during pre-service teacher preparation might lead to increased feelings of preparedness and confidence. This study reports the preparedness in managing specific problem behaviours, familiarity, and confidence in using management strategies and models of…

In the current study, special education teachers' perceptions of preparedness to implement recommended practices for students with severe disabilities were examined. A vignette-style survey was sent to special education teachers assigned to teach students with severe disabilities. Overall, respondents reported higher perceptions of preparedness to…

The current study investigated the content of school crisis plans and perceptions of crisis preparedness among school staff in six public elementary schools. Surveys were administered to 72 teachers, administrators, and other school staff members measuring their perceptions of crisis preparedness and performance of activities related to crisis…

The Emergency Preparedness Program provides an emergency management system including occurrence notification; development, coordination, and direction of planning, preparedness, and readiness assurance for response to emergency events on the Hanford Site; and emergency management support to Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office (RL).

The National Assessment Governing Board is an independent, bipartisan organization that sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The Governing Board established the NAEP Program of 12th Grade Preparedness Research to assess what NAEP can report on the academic preparedness of 12th grade students entering college and…

Although Canada has not experienced a major terrorist attack, an increased global pending threat has put preparedness at the top of the Canadian government's agenda. Given its strong multicultural community and close proximity to the recently targeted United States, the Canadian experience is unique. However, minimal research exists on the public's reactions to terrorism threats and related preparedness strategies. In order for response initiatives to be optimally effective, it is important that the public's opinions regarding terrorism and preparedness be considered. This qualitative study examined perceptions of terrorism threats among Canadians living in Central and Eastern Canada (N = 75) in the fall of 2004. Conceptualizations of terrorism threat, psychosocial impacts, and sense of preparedness were explored in a series of qualitative interviews. Findings revealed that the majority of Canadians did not feel overly threatened by terrorist attacks, due in part to a perception of terrorist threats as related to global sociopolitical events and a positive Canadian identity. In addition, while most respondents did not feel they were individually affected by the threat of terrorism, there was some concern regarding larger societal impacts, such as increased paranoia, discrimination, and threats to civil liberties. Participants' views on preparedness focused largely on the utility of emergency preparedness strategies and the factors that could mitigate or inhibit preparedness at the individual and institutional levels, with a specific focus on education. Finally, the significant relevance of these findings in shaping terrorism preparedness, both in Canada and generally, is discussed.

Natural disasters are becoming more common around the world, and it is widely accepted that developing nations show the highest rates of vulnerability. It makes sense to focus preparedness and mitigation efforts in these countries. However, it is important to realize that different teaching styles are required for different cultures with varying education systems and classroom atmospheres. The pedagogical models we use in the US can't be directly exported. A realistic assessment of the situation seen during two years living and working in rural El Salvador is presented, along with methods used and lessons learned.

Full Text Available The problem of Ebola virus infection is the big global concern. Preparedness for ongoing Ebola virus infection is the topic that should be discussed. In fact, it is necessary to set up a biosecurity system to protect against the present Ebola outbreak. The medical personnel have to prepare for fighting the problem. The management of the present outbreak requires international collaboration and control of cross-border disease transmission is also the big challenge. The good case study is the Hajj scenario.

Exercise in California as an opportunity to develop our research framework, we characterized several aspects of the public health and medical system’s response to a standardized emergency scenario. From a research perspective, this study provides a potential new framework for conducting exercise-based research. From a practitioner’s perspective, our results provide a starting point for preparedness professionals’ dialogue about expected and actual organizational roles, responsibilities, and resource capacities within the public health system. Additionally, the identification of specific challenges to inter-organizational communications and information management offer specific areas for intervention.

To examine the gap between disaster preparedness and response networks following the 2013 Seoul Floods in which the rapid transmission of disaster information and resources was impeded by severe changes of interorganizational collaboration networks. This research uses the 2013 Seoul Emergency Management Survey data that were collected before and after the floods, and total 94 organizations involving in coping with the floods were analyzed in bootstrap independent-sample t-test and social network analysis through UCINET 6 and STATA 12. The findings show that despite the primary network form that is more hierarchical, horizontal collaboration has been relatively invigorated in actual response. Also, interorganizational collaboration networks for response operations seem to be more flexible grounded on improvisation to coping with unexpected victims and damages. Local organizations under urban emergency management are recommended to tightly build a strong commitment for joint response operations through full-size exercises at the metropolitan level before a catastrophic event. Also, interorganizational emergency management networks need to be restructured by reflecting the actual response networks to reduce collaboration risk during a disaster. This research presents a critical insight into inverse thinking of the view designing urban emergency management networks and provides original evidences for filling the gap between previously coordinated networks for disaster preparedness and practical response operations after a disaster.

Clinical questions often arise at daily hospital bedside rounds. Yet, little information exists on how the search for answers may be facilitated. The aim of this prospective study was, therefore, to evaluate the overall utility, including the feasibility and usefulness of incorporating searches of UpToDate, a popular online information resource, into rounds. Doctors searched UpToDate for any unresolved clinical questions during rounds for patients in general medicine and respiratory wards, and in the medical intensive care unit of a tertiary teaching hospital. The nature of the questions and the results of the searches were recorded. Searches were deemed feasible if they were completed during the rounds and useful if they provided a satisfactory answer. A total of 157 UpToDate searches were performed during the study period. Questions were raised by all ranks of clinicians from junior doctors to consultants. The searches were feasible and performed immediately during rounds 44% of the time. Each search took a median of three minutes (first quartile: two minutes, third quartile: five minutes). UpToDate provided a useful and satisfactory answer 75% of the time, a partial answer 17% of the time and no answer 9% of the time. It led to a change in investigations, diagnosis or management 37% of the time, confirmed what was originally known or planned 38% of the time and had no effect 25% of the time. Incorporating UpToDate searches into daily bedside rounds was feasible and useful in clinical decision-making.

Evaluating driving safety of older adults is an important health topic, but primary care providers (PCP) face multiple barriers in addressing this issue. The study's objectives were to develop an electronic health record (EHR)-based Driving Clinical Support Tool, train PCPs to perform driving assessments utilizing the tool, and systematize documentation of assessment and management of driving safety issues via the tool. The intervention included development of an evidence-based Driving Clinical Support Tool within the EHR, followed by training of internal medicine providers in the tool's content and use. Pre- and postintervention provider surveys and chart review of driving-related patient visits were conducted. Surveys included self-report of preparedness and knowledge to evaluate at-risk older drivers and were analyzed using paired t-test. A chart review of driving-related office visits compared documentation pre- and postintervention including: completeness of appropriate focused history and exam, identification of deficits, patient education, and reporting to appropriate authorities when indicated. Data from 86 providers were analyzed. Pre- and postintervention surveys showed significantly increased self-assessed preparedness (p < .001) and increased driving-related knowledge (p < .001). Postintervention charts showed improved documentation of correct cognitive testing, more referrals/consults, increased patient education about community resources, and appropriate regulatory reporting when deficits were identified. Focused training and an EHR-based clinical support tool improved provider self-reported preparedness and knowledge of how to evaluate at-risk older drivers. The tool improved documentation of driving-related issues and led to improved access to interdisciplinary care coordination. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Gerontological Society of America 2015.

Fact: The U.S Government Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, rather remarkably has dedicated part of their web site to" Zombie Preparedness". See: http://www.cdc.gov/phpr/zombies.htm for more information. This is a tongue-incheek campaign with messages to engage audiences with the hazards of unpreparedness. The CDC director, U.S. Assistant Surgeon General Ali S. Khan (RET), MD, MPH notes, "If you are generally well equipped to deal with a zombie apocalypse you will be prepared for a hurricane, pandemic, earthquake, or terrorist attack. Make a plan, and be prepared!" (CDC Website, April 26th, 2013). Today we can make an easy comparison between the humor that the CDC is bringing to light, and what is actually happening in the Thermographic Industry. It must be acknowledge there are "Zombie Thermographers" out there. At times, it can be observed from the sidelines as a pandemic apocalypse attacking the credibility and legitimacy of the science and the industry that so many have been working to advance for over 30 years. This paper outlines and explores the trends currently taking place, the very real risks to facility plant, property, and human life as a result, and the strategies to overcome these problems.

In compliance with the IAEA regulations for the transport of radioactive material in the event of accidents during transport of radioactive material, emergency provisions to protect persons, property and environment have to be established and developed by the relevant national organisations. In France, the prefect of the department where the accident occurs is responsible for decisions and measures required to ensure the protection of both population and property at risk owing to the accident. During an accident, the ministers concerned provide the prefect with recommendations and information, in order to help him take the requisite decisions. On their side, the nuclear industry and transport companies also have to be prepared to intervene and to support the authorities at their request, depending on their capacities and their specialities. To prepare the emergency teams properly and acquire effective emergency plans, training exercises have to be conducted regularly with every ministerial department involved, the nuclear industry and transport companies, members of the public and the media. Then, the feedback from such exercises shall be taken into account to improve the emergency procedures. This paper will introduce: - emergency response preparedness: what is required by the relevant regulations? - emergency response preparedness: how is France organised? - the French experience of conducting large training exercises simulating accidents involving the transport of radioactive material; - the main difficulties and lessons learned; - the perspectives.

In the age of preparedness, public health agencies are concerned with intentional acts of food contamination in restaurants, in addition to food safety. Food safety consists of applying standard norms of practice and infrastructure, which, if violated, cause food-borne illness. In contrast, food defense requires an institutionalized mindset of informed alertness to unusual variations from the norms, combined with preemptive practices best suited to each restaurant. Therefore, while food safety lends itself to regulation to ensure standard practices, food defense is best served by advisory guidelines for autonomous application, preserving the restaurant industry's core values of hospitality and customer service. To address this challenge, public health agencies need survey tools that can yield action-relevant data on the knowledge and practice gaps in food defense preparedness and on educational messages and support services to be developed for maximum impact potential. This article presents a mail survey instrument, developed using qualitative research to ensure content and face validity. Instrument development involved drafting the survey on the basis of expert consultations, validating its content by using focus groups (representing all restaurant categories and geographic regions), and ensuring face validity through cognitive interviews. The resulting survey remains sensitive to the hospitality industry while encompassing all vulnerable points.

The advent of technologically-based approaches to disaster response training through Virtual Reality (VR) environments appears promising in its ability to bridge the gaps of other commonly established training formats. Specifically, the immersive and participatory nature of VR training offers a unique realistic quality that is not generally present in classroom-based or web-based training, yet retains considerable cost advantages over large-scale real-life exercises and other modalities and is gaining increasing acceptance. Currently, numerous government departments and agencies including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as academic institutions are exploring the unique advantages of VR-based training for disaster preparedness and response. Growing implementation of VR-based training for disaster preparedness and response, conducted either independently or combined with other training formats, is anticipated. This paper reviews several applications of VR-based training in the United States, and reveals advantages as well as potential drawbacks and challenges associated with the implementation of such training platform.

Older people are a major vulnerable population. During disasters, given their physical frailty, lower social status, loss of medications and medical care, the vulnerability of older people increases. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of older people in Korea on various aspects of disaster preparedness to better understand their special needs and to facilitate appropriate disaster planning. The study was qualitative and used focus group interviews with 12 older people in one major city and one rural area of South Korea. Four themes were identified by the analysis of the interviews: defenceless state, reality of accepting limitations, strong will to live, importance of disaster preparedness governmental efforts for the older people. Findings indicated that preparation of shelters and transportation was critical to help older people survive in times of disasters and suggested that there should be active involvement of the government in terms of disaster planning, managing and preparing older people for disasters. In addition, healthy older people can be assets to disaster relief efforts by providing practical and emotional support for the most fragile older people. Older people can also provide knowledge of their special needs to the government to improve their disaster response policy.

Avian influenza A H5N1 continues to be a major threat to global public health as it is a likely candidate for the next influenza pandemic. To protect public health and avert potential disruption to the economy, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has committed substantial effort in preparedness for avian and pandemic influenza. Public health infrastructures for emerging infectious diseases have been developed to enhance command, control and coordination of emergency response. Strategies against avian and pandemic influenza are formulated to reduce opportunities for human infection, detect pandemic influenza timely, and enhance emergency preparedness and response capacity. Key components of the pandemic response include strengthening disease surveillance systems, updating legislation on infectious disease prevention and control, enhancing traveller health measures, building surge capacity, maintaining adequate pharmaceutical stockpiles, and ensuring business continuity during crisis. Challenges from avian and pandemic influenza are not to be underestimated. Implementing quarantine and social distancing measures to contain or mitigate the spread of pandemic influenza is problematic in a highly urbanised city like Hong Kong as they involved complex operational and ethical issues. Sustaining effective risk communication campaigns during interpandemic times is another challenge. Being a member of the global village, Hong Kong is committed to contributing its share of efforts and collaborating with health authorities internationally in combating our common public health enemy.

Full Text Available A medical special needs (MSN assessment was conducted among 3088 respondents in a hurricane prone area. The sample was female (51.7%, Hispanic (92.9%, aged > 45 years (51%, not insured for health (59.2%, and with an MSN (33.2%. Barriers to preparedness were characterized for all households, including those with inhabitants reporting MSN ranging from level 0 (mild to level 4 (most severe. Multivariable logistic regression tested associations between hurricane preparedness and barriers to evacuation by level of MSN. A significant interaction effect between number of evacuation barriers and MSN was found. Among households that reported individuals with level 0 MSN, the odds of being unprepared increased 18% for each additional evacuation barrier [OR=1.18, 95% CI (1.08, 1.30]. Among households that reported individuals with level 1 MSN, the odds of being unprepared increased 29% for each additional evacuation barrier [OR=1.29, 95% CI (1.11, 1.51]. Among households that reported individuals with level 3 MSN, the odds of being unprepared increased 68% for each additional evacuation barrier [OR=1.68, 95% CI (1.21, 1.32]. MSN alone did not explain the probability of unpreparedness, but rather MSN in the presence of barriers helped explain unpreparedness.

Tsunamis are a constant threat to the coasts of our world. Although tsunamis are infrequent along the West coast of the United States, it is possible and necessary to prepare for potential tsunami hazards to minimize loss of life and property. Community awareness programs are important, as they strive to create an informed society by providing education and training. This video about tsunami preparedness along the West coast distinguishes between a local tsunami and a distant event and focuses on the specific needs of each region. It offers guidelines for correct tsunami response and community preparedness from local emergency managers, first-responders, and leading experts on tsunami hazards and warnings, who have been working on ways of making the tsunami affected regions safer for the people and communities on a long-term basis. This video was produced by the US Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA), Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI), Washington Emergency Management Division (EMD), Marin Office of Emergency Services, and Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E).

Contemporary events in the United States (eg, September 2001, school shootings), Europe (eg, Madrid train bombings), and the Middle East have raised awareness of mass casualty events and the need for a capable disaster response. Recent natural disasters have highlighted the poor preparation and infrastructure in place to respond to mass casualty events. In response, public health policy makers and emergency planners developed plans and prepared emergency response systems. Emergency response providers include first responders, a subset of emergency professionals, including firemen, law enforcement, paramedics, who respond to the incident scene and first receivers, a set of healthcare workers who receive the disaster victims at hospital facilities. The role of pediatric surgeons in mass casualty emergency response plans remains undefined. The authors hypothesize that pediatric surgeons' training and experience will predict their willingness and ability to be activated first receivers. The objective of our study was to determine the baseline experience, preparedness, willingness, and availability of pediatric surgeons to participate as activated first receivers. After institutional review board approval, the authors conducted an anonymous online survey of members of the American Pediatric Surgical Association in 2007. The authors explored four domains in this survey: (1) demographics, (2) disaster experience and perceived preparedness, (3) attitudes regarding responsibility and willingness to participate in a disaster response, and (4) availability to participate in a disaster response. The authors performed univariate and bivariate analyses to determine significance. Finally, the authors conducted a logistic regression to determine whether experience or preparedness factors affected the respondent's availability or willingness to respond to a disaster as a first receiver The authors sent 725 invitations and received 265 (36.6 percent) completed surveys. Overall, the

perpetua - tion (or even an increase) of the problem despite implementation of an anti- cipated solution. Their recommendations included a clearinghouse...Mobilization - Civil Preparedness Guides for State and Local Civil Preparedness Directors - Civil Preparedness Guides, including circulars , reports, memoran

The primary focus of the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) is to enhance the response capabilities of the eight US Army installations that store chemical weapons agent and of the communities immediately surrounding each Army storage installation. Exercises are a major component of the program and are conducted annually at each of the eight installations. Following each exercise, a report summarizing the results of the exercise is produced. To gain a better perspective on the site-specific and program-wide results of these exercises, the Project Manager for Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness requested that Argonne National Laboratory develop a database containing the results of exercises held through June 1996. This document provides a summary of the process used to develop the CSEPP Exercise Results Database. The database provides CSEPP managers in the Department of the Army and the Federal Emergency Management Agency a method for tracking and analyzing exercise results. The report discusses the collection and coding of exercise data and provides tables to guide coding of future exercise results. An electronic copy of the database (CD-ROM) accompanies the report. This report focuses only on methods used to collect exercise data and develop the database; Volume 2 discusses the analysis of the data collected.

With the popularization of electronic product development,library is no longer the paper-based resources into a single information carrier the pattern,but has formed a paper resource and electronicresources coexist in the new situation.Because the library types of our country,the proportion of input between paper-based resources and other kinds of resources exist difference.This paper will discuss the relationship between the traditional and electronicsresources,and also points out the existing problems and the countermeasures.%随着电子产品的普及发展,图书馆已不再以纸质资源为唯一的信息载体,而是形成了纸质资源和电子资源并存的新局面。由于国内图书馆类型的不同,纸质资源与电子资源的配比也会存在差异。通过讨论二者的关系,指出存在的问题及应对之策。

Full Text Available Objective – To provide an analysis of the impact of expenditures on electronic resourcesand gate counts on the increase or decrease in reference transactions.Design – Analysis of results of existing survey data from the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES 2006 Academic Library Survey(ALS.Setting – Academic libraries in the United States.Subjects – 3925 academic library respondents.Methods – The author chose to use survey data collected from the 2006 ALS conducted bythe NCES. The survey included data on various topics related to academic libraries, but in the case of this study, the author chose to analyze three of the 193 variables included. The three variables: electronic books expenditure, computer hardware and software, and expenditures on bibliographic utilities, were combined into one variable called electronicresource expenditure. Gate counts were also considered as a variable. Electronicresource expenditure was also split as a variable into three groups: low, medium, and high. Multiple regression analysis and general linear modeling, along with tests of reliability, were employed. Main Results – The author determined that low, medium, and high spenders with regard to electronicresources exhibited differences in gate counts, and gate counts have an effect on reference transactions in any given week. Gate counts tend to not have much of an effect on reference transactions for the higher spenders, and higher spenders tend to have a higher number of reference transactions overall. Low spenders have lower gate counts and also a lower amount of reference transactions.Conclusion – The findings from this study show that academic libraries spending more on electronicresources also tend to have an increase with regard to reference transactions. The author also concludes that library spaces are no longer the determining factor with regard to number of reference transactions. Spending more on electronicresources is

Background. Little is known about birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPCR) plan in resource limited settings to decrease maternal mortality. Therefore, this study was done to assess the status of BPCR and associated factors among pregnant women in South Wollo, Northwest Ethiopia, by involving 819 pregnant women from March to April, 2014. Data were collected by using pretested interviewer administered questionnaire and analyzed using a computer program of SPSS version 20.00. Results. Pregnant women who were prepared for at least three elements of BPCR were 24.1%. Pregnant women knowing at least three key danger signs during pregnancy, delivery, and postnatal period were 23.2%, 22.6%, and 9.6%, respectively. Women having secondary education and higher were 6.20 (95% CI = [1.36, 28.120]) times more likely to be prepared than illiterates. Women having a lifetime history of stillbirth [5.80 (1.13, 29.63)], attending ANC for last child pregnancy [5.44 (2.07, 14.27)], participating in community BPCR group discussion [4.36 (1.17, 16.26)], and having their male partner involved in BPCR counseling during ANC follow-up [4.45 (1.95, 10.16)] were more likely to be prepared. Conclusions. BPCR was very low and should be strengthened through health communication by involving partner in BPCR counseling. PMID:27722201

Resilience and the ability to mitigate the consequences of a nuclear incident are enhanced by (1) effective planning, preparation and training; (2) ongoing interaction, formal exercises, and evaluation among the sectors involved; (3) effective and timely response and communication; and (4) continuous improvements based on new science, technology, experience and ideas. Public health and medical planning require a complex, multi-faceted systematic approach involving federal, state, local, tribal and territorial governments, private sector organizations, academia, industry, international partners, and individual experts and volunteers. The approach developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Nuclear Incident Medical Enterprise (NIME) is the result of efforts from government and nongovernment experts. It is a “bottom-up” systematic approach built on the available and emerging science that considers physical infrastructure damage, the spectrum of injuries, a scarce resources setting, the need for decision making in the face of a rapidly evolving situation with limited information early on, timely communication and the need for tools and just-in-time information for responders who will likely be unfamiliar with radiation medicine and uncertain and overwhelmed in the face of the large number of casualties and the presence of radioactivity. The components of NIME can be used to support planning for, response to, and recovery from the effects of a nuclear incident. Recognizing that it is a continuous work-in-progress, the current status of the public health and medical preparedness and response for a nuclear incident is provided. PMID:25551496

Preparedness is a necessity for proper handling of emergencies and disaster, particularly in Suez Canal and Sinai regions. To assure best success rates, educative programs should be environmentally based. Burn and fire preventive educative programs were tailored to adapt social and education levels of audience. In addition, common etiologies and applicability of preventive measures, according to local resources and logistics, were considered. Presentations were the main educative tool; they were made as simple as possible to assure best understanding. To assure continuous education, brochures and stickers, containing most popular mistakes and questions, were distributed after the sessions. Audience was classified according to their level of knowledge to health professional group; students groups; high-risk group; and lay people group. For course efficacy evaluation, pre- and posttests were used immediately before and after the sessions. Right answers in both tests were compared for statistical significance. Results showed significant acquisition of proper attitude and knowledge in all educated groups. The highest was among students and the least was in health professionals. Comprehensive simple environmental-based educative programs are ideal for rapid reform and community mobilization in our region. Activities should include direct contact, stickers and flyers, and audiovisual tools if possible.

As community residents and recovery workers, Latino immigrants play important roles after disasters, yet are rarely included in preparedness planning. A community-university-labor union partnership created a demonstration project after Hurricane Sandy to strengthen connections to disaster preparedness systems to increase community resilience among Latino immigrant communities in New York and New Jersey. Building ongoing ties that connect workers and community-based organizations with local disaster preparedness systems provided mutual benefits to disaster planners and local immigrant communities, and also had an impact on national disaster-related initiatives.

Natural and man-made disasters are unpredictable but certainly will include children as victims. Increasingly, knowledge of pediatric disaster preparedness is required of emergency and primary care practitioners. A complete pediatric disaster plan comprises the following elements: appropriate personnel and equipment, disaster- and venue-specific training, and family preparedness. Disaster preparedness exercises are crucial for training plan implementation and response evaluation. Exercise content depends on local hazard vulnerabilities and learner training needs. Postexercise evaluations follow a stepwise process that culminates in improved disaster plans. This article will review disaster planning and the design, implementation, and evaluation of pediatric disaster exercises.

Full Text Available This paper deals with results of the research of physical preparedness of professional teams of footballers of different level. The pedagogical testing program of the physical skills level includes control exercised recommended by the scientific-methodical committee of Ukrainian Federation of Football. The article presents indices of physical preparedness of footballers of different playing roles of the top league teams of Ukrainian championship and first league of Ukrainian team championship. Differences of physical preparedness structure of goalkeepers, defenders, halfbacks and forwards are revealed.

Effective disaster response is preceded by effective disaster planning, and insufficient staff training has been identified as a problem in the preparation of hospitals for major incidents. Despite this, little is known about the exact levels of training doctors and nurses responding to a disaster receive. The authors conducted a six-question survey delivered to staff involved in the hospital response to a burns mass disaster in Western Australia. The occupation, and also the clinical area in which the respondent worked, influenced the level of training they received. Training in formal disaster courses and practical exercises in mock disaster situations needs to be ongoing for all staff members for correct implantation of disaster plans. Findings may be useful in informing current and future efforts to improve hospital preparedness.

This Report provides information on the state agencies assigned to radioactive materials transportation incidents in 16 Southern States Energy Board member states. For each, the report lists the agencies with primary authority for preparedness and response, their responsibilities and personnel within the agencies who can offer additional information on their radioactive materials transportation programs. The report also lists each state's emergency team members and its laboratory and analytical capabilities. Finally, the governor's designee for receiving advance notification of high-level radioactive materials and spent fuel shipments under 10 CFR Parts 71 and 73 of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's regulations is listed for each state. Part 71 requires prenotification for large quantity radioactive waste shipments. Part 73 addresses prenotification for spent nuclear reactor fuel shipments.

This Report provides information on the state agencies assigned to radioactive materials transportation incidents in 16 Southern States Energy Board member states. For each, the report lists the agencies with primary authority for preparedness and response, their responsibilities and personnel within the agencies who can offer additional information on their radioactive materials transportation programs. The report also lists each state`s emergency team members and its laboratory and analytical capabilities. Finally, the governor`s designee for receiving advance notification of high-level radioactive materials and spent fuel shipments under 10 CFR Parts 71 and 73 of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission`s regulations is listed for each state. Part 71 requires prenotification for large quantity radioactive waste shipments. Part 73 addresses prenotification for spent nuclear reactor fuel shipments.

Radiation emergency preparedness systems must be able to deal with the threats posed to each country and the region as a whole. The threats from nuclear accidents differ in the various countries of the region. The most serious nuclear threats are those with cross-border implications and are generally assumed to be due to the presence of nuclear reactors of various kinds. Some countries in the region, Finland, Germany, Lithuania, the Russian Federation and Sweden, have nuclear power plants, and several countries in the region possess smaller research reactors. Other nuclear threats arise from nuclear powered naval vessels or submarines, and from nuclear powered satellites. Production, transportation, use, and disposal of radioactive materials constitute potential local nuclear hazards. Finally, terrorist use of radioactive material poses a nuclear threat to all countries. (au)

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union the nuclear threats facing the world are constantly evolving and have grown more complex since the end of the Cold War. The diversion of complete weapon systems or nuclear material to rogue nations and terrorist organizations has increased. The events of the past years have proved the necessity to reevaluate these threats on a level never before considered. In recognition that no single country possesses all of the answers to the critical scientific, institutional and legal questions associated with combating nuclear and radiological terrorism, the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on “Preparedness for Nuclear and Radiological Threats” and this proceeding was structured to promote wide-ranging, multi-national exploration of critical technology needs and underlying scientific challenges to reducing the threat of nuclear/radiological terrorism; to illustrate through country-specific presentations how resulting technologies were used in national programs; and to outli...

Earth Girl Volcano is an interactive casual strategy game for disaster preparedness. The project is designed for mainstream audiences, particularly for children, as an engaging and fun way to learn about volcano hazards. Earth Girl is a friendly character that kids can easily connect with and she helps players understand how to best minimize volcanic risk. Our previous award-winning game, Earth Girl Tsunami, has seen success on social media, and is available as a free app for both Android and iOS tables and large phones in seven languages: Indonesian, Thai, Tamil, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, French and English. This is the first public viewing of the Earth Girl Volcano new game prototype.

Full Text Available Considerable importance for the control system, selection and orientation of the players on the stage long-term preparation plays a selection of effective methods of testing the various components of functional fitness athlete for timely, objective information about the players. The use of reliable scientific methods of effective monitoring of the athlete contributes to the further improvement of skills, increase athletic achievements. The purpose of this article is to describe and summarize modern methods of diagnosis and development of aerobic component of operational preparedness players qualifications. This article describes methods that actively and effectively used in leading European football teams. Specifically Yo-Yo test, test Shuttle (beep-test, Bangsbo test, test Hoff-Helgerud, test Conconi, Wingate-test. These tests have a high level of reliability and security mechanisms for assessing aerobic power players.

Radiation emergency preparedness systems must be able to deal with the threats posed to each country and the region as a whole. The threats from nuclear accidents differ in the various countries of the region. The most serious nuclear threats are those with cross-border implications and are generally assumed to be due to the presence of nuclear reactors of various kinds. Some countries in the region, Finland, Germany, Lithuania, the Russian Federation and Sweden, have nuclear power plants, and several countries in the region possess smaller research reactors. Other nuclear threats arise from nuclear powered naval vessels or submarines, and from nuclear powered satellites. Production, transportation, use, and disposal of radioactive materials constitute potential local nuclear hazards. Finally, terrorist use of radioactive material poses a nuclear threat to all countries. (au)

Core correctional practices (CCP) are an evidence-based approach that can improve the quality of the prison environment and enhance prisoner outcomes. CCP focus on increasing the effectiveness of treatment interventions as well as the therapeutic potential of relationships between prisoners and correctional staff. This study utilizes a new survey-based measurement tool to assess inmate perceptions of the quality of service delivery and level of adherence to CCP. It then examines the relationship between perceptions of CCP and prisoner's preparedness for releasing using both bivariate and multivariate analyses. The results show that the perceptions of CCP are positively correlated with readiness for release and are the most powerful predictor of readiness for release in the multivariate models. Implications for the future operationalization of CCP and its role in prisoner reentry are discussed.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) caused significant outbreaks of illness during 2005–2007 in the Indian Ocean region. Chikungunya outbreaks have also occurred in the Pacific region, including in Papua New Guinea in 2012; New Caledonia in April 2013; and Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia, in August 2013. CHIKV is a threat in the Pacific, and the risk for further spread is high, given several similarities between the Pacific and Indian Ocean chikungunya outbreaks. Island health care systems have difficulties coping with high caseloads, which highlights the need for early multidisciplinary preparedness. The Pacific Public Health Surveillance Network has developed several strategies focusing on surveillance, case management, vector control, laboratory confirmation, and communication. The management of this CHIKV threat will likely have broad implications for global public health. PMID:25062306

This planning guide was developed under the direction of the U.S. Army and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which jointly coordinate and direct the development of the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP). It was produced to assist state, local, and Army installation planners in formulating and coordinating plans for chemical events that may occur at the chemical agent stockpile storage locations in the continental United States. This document provides broad planning guidance for use by both on-post and off-post agencies and organizations in the development of a coordinated plan for responding to chemical events. It contains checklists to assist in assuring that all important aspects are included in the plans and procedures developed at each Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program (CSDP) location. The checklists are supplemented by planning guidelines in the appendices which provide more detailed guidance regarding some issues. The planning guidance contained in this document will help ensure that adequate coordination between on-post and off-post planners occurs during the planning process. This planning guide broadly describes an adequate emergency planning base that assures that critical planning decisions will be made consistently at every chemical agent stockpile location. This planning guide includes material drawn from other documents developed by the FEMA, the Army, and other federal agencies with emergency preparedness program responsibilities. Some of this material has been developed specifically to meet the unique requirements of the CSEPP. In addition to this guidance, other location-specific documents, technical studies, and support studies should be used as needed to assist in the planning at each of the chemical agent stockpile locations to address the specific hazards and conditions at each location.

Full Text Available Context : Climate change is a significant and emerging threat to public health and to meet the challenge, health systems require qualified staff. Aims : To study the preparedness of medical interns to meet the challenge of protecting health from climate change. Settings and Design: Medical colleges in a coastal town. Cross-sectional study. Materials and Methods: A proportionate number of medical interns from five medical colleges were included in the study. Level of awareness was used as a criterion to judge the preparedness. A self-administered, pretested, open-ended questionnaire was used. Responses were evaluated and graded. Statistical Analysis Used: Proportions, percentage, Chi-test. Results : About 90% of the medical interns were aware of the climate change and human activities that were playing a major role. Ninety-four percent were aware of the direct health impacts due to higher temperature and depletion in ozone concentration, and about 78% of the respondents were aware about the change in frequency / distribution of vector-borne diseases, water borne / related diseases, malnutrition, and health impact of population displacement. Knowledge regarding health protection was limited to mitigation of climate change and training / education. Options like adaptation, establishing / strengthening climate and disease surveillance systems, and health action in emergency were known to only nine (7%, eight (6%, and 17 (13%, respectively. Collegewise difference was statistically insignificant. Extra / co-curricular activities were the major source of knowledge. Conclusions : Majority of medical interns were aware of the causes and health impacts of climate change, but their knowledge regarding health protection measures was limited.

The focus of this study was to identify and analyze the obstacles to bioterrorism preparedness and response facing emergency management agencies and public authorities. In order to establish the limits of this discussion, the obstacles will examine a combined conceptual framework of public health, environmental security and social response. The interdisciplinary characteristics of this framework are ideal for addressing the issue of bioterrorism because of its simultaneous impact, which encompasses the complex interrelationships that pertain to public health and national security and social response. Based on a review of literature, the obstacles presented range from the absence of an effective surveillance system for biological terrorism related diseases to the inadequate training of first responders in bioterrorism preparedness and the difficult challenges of a mass casualty situation and the intense pressures associated with the crisis response. Furthermore, the impending reality of bioterrorism will further illustrate a close examination of the characteristics and management of three major biowarfare agents---anthrax, plague and smallpox. Finally, to provide a realistic understanding of the impact of bioterrorism, three case studies of actual events and two hypothetical scenarios will be discussed. Specifically, the discussion will provide the following three unconventional terrorist attacks: the recent anthrax attacks of 2001, the Aum Shinrikyo's attack of the Tokyo subway in 1995, and the Rajneeshees' use of salmonella poisoning in 1994. The inclusion of the hypothetical scenarios of two massive outbreaks of smallpox and anthrax will be presented to illuminate the seriousness and magnitude of the threat of bioterrorism and the probable consequences of failing to overcome the obstacles presented in this study. The importance of this research cannot be overemphasized, the threat is undeniably serious, and the potential for biological agents to cause devastating

Global health electives based in resource-poor countries have become extremely popular with medical students from resource rich ones. As the number of such programs and participants increase, so too do the absolute health and safety risks. It is clear from a number of published reports that many institutions provide little or no meaningful preparedness for students and do little to ensure their health and safety. These deficiencies together can affect students, their foreign hosts, and sponsoring institutions. The School of Public Health at the State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, and its predecessor, the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, have sponsored a 6-8 week global health elective for fourth year medical students since 1980. The purposes of this elective are to provide students with an opportunity to observe the health care and public health systems in resource-poor countries, provide medical service, and have a cross-cultural experience. Over the course of the past 35 years, 386 students have participated in this global health elective in more than 41 resource-poor countries. Recent annual applications for this elective have been as high as 44 out of a class of 200 students. Over the past 10 years, annual acceptance rates have varied, ranging from a low of 32 % in 2007-2008 to a high of 74 % in 2010-2011 and 2013-2014. Careful screening, including a written application, review of academic records and personal interviews, has resulted in the selection of highly mature, adaptable, and dedicated students who have performed well at overseas sites. Appropriately preparing students for an overseas global health experience in resource-poor countries requires the investment of much professional and staff time and effort. At the SUNY Downstate School of Public Health, these resources have underpinned our Global Health in Developing Countries elective for many years. As a result, the elective is characterized by meticulous

Full Text Available Abstract Background A timely detection of outbreaks through surveillance is needed in order to prevent future pandemics. However, current surveillance systems may not be prepared to accomplish this goal, especially in resource limited settings. As data quality and timeliness are attributes that improve outbreak detection capacity, we assessed the effect of two interventions on such attributes in Alerta, an electronic disease surveillance system in the Peruvian Navy. Methods 40 Alerta reporting units (18 clinics and 22 ships were included in a 12-week prospective evaluation project. After a short refresher course on the notification process, units were randomly assigned to either a phone, visit or control group. Phone group sites were called three hours before the biweekly reporting deadline if they had not sent their report. Visit group sites received supervision visits on weeks 4 & 8, but no phone calls. The control group sites were not contacted by phone or visited. Timeliness and data quality were assessed by calculating the percentage of reports sent on time and percentage of errors per total number of reports, respectively. Results Timeliness improved in the phone group from 64.6% to 84% in clinics (+19.4 [95% CI, +10.3 to +28.6]; p Conclusion Regular phone reminders significantly improved timeliness of reports in clinics and ships, whereas supervision visits led to improved data quality only among clinics. Further investigations are needed to establish the cost-effectiveness and optimal use of each of these strategies.

among digital libraries . METS provides an XML DTD that can point to metadata in other schemes by declaring the scheme that is being used. For example...site: www.niso.org/news/Metadata_simpler.pdf International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). (2002). Digital Libraries : Metadata

Full Text Available Natural disasters including hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, and fires often involve substantial physical and mental impacts on affected populations and thus are public health priorities. Limited research shows that vulnerable populations such as the low-income, socially isolated migrant and seasonal farmworkers (MSFW are particularly susceptible to the effects of natural disasters.This research project assessed the awareness, perceived risk, and practices regarding disaster preparedness and response resources and identified barriers to utilization of community and government services during or after a natural disaster among Latino MSFWs’ and their families. Qualitative (N = 21 focus groups (3 and quantitative (N = 57 survey methodology was implemented with Latino MSFWs temporarily residing in rural eastern North Carolina to assess perceived and actual risk for natural disasters.Hurricanes were a top concern among the sample population, many participants shared they lacked proper resources for an emergency (no emergency kit in the house, no evacuation plan, no home internet, a lack of knowledge of what should be included in an emergency kit, etc.. Transportation and language were found to be additional barriers. Emergency broadcasts in Spanish and text message alerts were identified by the population to be helpful for disaster alerts. FEMA, American Red Cross, local schools and the migrant clinic were trusted places for assistance and information. In summary, tailored materials, emergency alerts, text messages, and news coverage concerning disaster threats should be provided in the population’s native language and when feasible delivered in a culturally appropriate mechanism such as “charlas” (talks and brochures.

We report the results of a study designed to assess and evaluate how the law shapes the public health system's preparedness activities. Based on 144 qualitative interviews conducted in nine states, we used a model that compared the objective legal environment with how practitioners perceived the laws. Most local public health and emergency management professionals relied on what they perceived the legal environment to be rather than on an adequate understanding of the objective legal requirements. Major reasons for the gap include the lack of legal training for local practitioners and the difficulty of obtaining clarification and consistent legal advice regarding public health preparedness. Narrowing the gap would most likely improve preparedness outcomes. We conclude that there are serious deficiencies in legal preparedness that can undermine effective responses to public health emergencies. Correcting the lack of legal knowledge, coupled with eliminating delays in resolving legal issues and questions during public health emergencies, could have measurable consequences on reducing morbidity and mortality.

Full Text Available Purpose: the analysis of choreographic preparedness of different age groups of sportsmen on sports aerobics. Material & Methods: videos of competitive programs of the sportsmen, who are specialized in aerobics, different age groups, method of expert evaluations are used for the quantitative analysis of choreographic preparedness; methods of mathematical analysis and synthesis are used for the determination of level of choreographic preparedness of sportsmen. Results: the level of choreographic preparedness is determined on the basis of the rating scale of the criteria of implementation of the competitive programs (Competition rules of 2013–2016 of teams-participants of the Championship of Ukraine for sports aerobics. Conclusions: indicators, to which it is necessary to pay attention in the course of choreographic preparation at stages of long-term training of sportsmen, are defined.

.... Measuring Individual Disaster Recovery: A Socioecological Framework. Disaster Medicine and Public Health..., Community Engagement, and Recovery in 21st Century Crises. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness... Serious Emotional Disturbance in Children After Hurricane Katrina. Disaster Medicine and Public...

Taiwan and New Zealand are both located in the Pacific Rim where 81 per cent of the world's largest earthquakes occur. Effective programmes for increasing people's preparedness for these hazards are essential. This paper tests the applicability of the community engagement theory of hazard preparedness in two distinct cultural contexts. Structural equation modelling analysis provides support for this theory. The paper suggests that the close fit between theory and data that is achieved by excluding trust supports the theoretical prediction that familiarity with a hazard negates the need to trust external sources. The results demonstrate that the hazard preparedness theory is applicable to communities that have previously experienced earthquakes and are therefore familiar with the associated hazards and the need for earthquake preparedness. The paper also argues that cross-cultural comparisons provide opportunities for collaborative research and learning as well as access to a wider range of potential earthquake risk management strategies.

Health educators are frequently called on to facilitate community preparedness planning. One planning tool is community-wide tabletop exercises. Tabletop exercises can improve the preparedness of public health system agencies to address disaster by bringing together individuals representing organizations with different roles and perspectives in specific disasters. Thus, they have the opportunity to identify each other's roles, capabilities, and limitations and to problem-solve about how to address the gaps and overlaps in a low-threat collaborative setting. In 2005, the North Carolina Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response developed a series of exercises to test the preparedness for chemical disasters in a metropolitan region in the southeastern United States. A tabletop exercise allowed agency heads to meet in an environment promoting inter- and intraagency public-private coordination and cooperation. The evaluation results reported here suggest ways in which any tabletop exercise can be enhanced through recruitment, planning, and implementation.

Full Text Available The increase of indexes of physical development is resulted, level of physical preparedness of young weightlifters which conduct preparation to championship of Ukraine on heavy athletics. 36 young weightlifters took participation in research. Age of sportsmen - 14 years. The indexes of physical development and level of physical preparedness of young weightlifters are investigational. The analysis of increase of general and special physical preparedness of young weightlifters is carried out by their comparison at the end of setup time. The indexes of physical development and physical preparedness of sportsmen are investigational on the index of Erismana and the analysis of indexes of durability of build is carried out. It is appraised, that the index of active mass of body of sportsmen is increased at the end of setup time - on 7,7 %.

电子信息资源的整合是数字图书馆建设中的一个非常重要的环节,论述了数字资源整合的必要性,结合农业图书馆的实际,开展了电子资源整合服务平台的设计与实现。%The integration of electronic information resources is a very important part in digital library construction.In this paper,the necessity for integration of digital resources was discussed,combined with the actuality of the agricultural library,the design and implementation about services platform of electronicresource integration were carried out.

Full Text Available The features of control of general and special physical preparedness of young sportsmen are examined. Considerable part of researches in area of control and training process control in taekwondo is devoted practice of sport of higher achievements. Timely realization of control of physical preparedness for sportsmen will allow expediently to develop physical qualities. It will allow in the future to apply sportsmen on achievement of high and stable sporting results.

The work described in this article represents two years of collaboration among 32 evaluators from 23 schools of public health involved in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Centers for Public Health Preparedness program. Evaluators in public health emergency preparedness (PHEP) training were tasked with identifying what constitutes quality in PHEP training and providing guidance to practitioners in selecting training packages. The results of their deliberations included developm...

System Dynamics (SD) modelling is used to investigate the impacts of policy interventions on industry actors' preparedness to mitigate risks and to recover from disruptions along the maritime logistics and supply chain network. The model suggests a bi-directional relation between regulation and industry actors' behaviour towards Disaster Preparedness (DP) in maritime logistics networks. The model also showed that the level of DP is highly contingent on forecast accuracy, technology change, attitude to risk prevention, port activities, and port environment.

Full Text Available The features of structure of psychophysiological possibilities and physical preparedness of students are considered. 87 students took part in research. Possibilities of students are appraised for to a 21 index of the complex testing. Individual factor values are certain for every student. The average factor models of preparedness of students are made. The level of expressed of every factor is certain depending on sporting specialization.

Full Text Available Climate change adversely brings about uncontrollable, unpredictable natural calamities. Municipality of Calinog, strategically located at the center of Panay Island, has its share of environmental hazard nightmares. Thus, it is deemed necessary to assess students’ environmental knowledge, concern and disaster preparedness. Participants were 293 students of West Visayas State University Calinog for AY 2012-13. Modified, partly adapted instrument attempted to collect information from respondents. Statistical tools used- Mean; Standard Deviation; t-test; One-Way ANOVA; and Pearson’s r. Respondents’ level of environmental literacy and concern are “knowledgeable” and “very concerned” respectively. Level of disaster preparedness was “most often prepared” in all variables except to course. Significant relationships between the environmental literacy and concern; and between environmental literacy and disaster preparedness have been observed. Generally, students are environmentally literate, concerned, prepared during disasters occurrence. Significant variations occur in environmental literacy, concern, and disaster preparedness among respondents categorized according to course while no variations occurred among others. Environmental literacy is associated with environmental concern and disaster preparedness while environmental concern not associated with disaster preparedness. Hence, educational institutions must do their share.

Danger is a fundamental aspect of the lives of most animals. Adaptive behavior therefore requires avoiding actions, objects, and environments associated with danger. Previous research has shown that humans and non-human animals can avoid such dangers through two types of behavioral adaptions, (i) genetic preparedness to avoid certain stimuli or actions, and (ii) social learning. These adaptive mechanisms reduce the fitness costs associated with danger but still allow flexible behavior. Despite the empirical prevalence and importance of both these mechanisms, it is unclear when they evolve and how they interact. We used evolutionary agent-based simulations, incorporating empirically based learning mechanisms, to clarify if preparedness and social learning typically both evolve in dangerous environments, and if these mechanisms generally interact synergistically or antagonistically. Our simulations showed that preparedness and social learning often co-evolve because they provide complimentary benefits: genetic preparedness reduced foraging efficiency, but resulted in a higher rate of survival in dangerous environments, while social learning generally came to dominate the population, especially when the environment was stochastic. However, even in this case, genetic preparedness reliably evolved. Broadly, our results indicate that the relationship between preparedness and social learning is important as it can result in trade-offs between behavioral flexibility and safety, which can lead to seemingly suboptimal behavior if the evolutionary environment of the organism is not taken into account.

Library resources are prevalent on the Internet. Library catalogs, electronic books, electronic periodicals, periodical indexes, reference sources, and U.S. Government documents are available by telnet, Gopher, World Wide Web, and FTP. Comparatively few copyrighted library resources are available freely on the Internet. Internet implementations of library resources can add useful features, such as full-text searching. There are discussion lists, Gophers, and World Wide Web pages to help users keep up with new resources and changes to existing ones. The future will bring more library resources, more types of library resources, and more integrated implementations of such resources to the Internet.

Often times science communication is reactive and it minimizes the perceptions of the general public. The Tsunami of New Dreams is a film with the testimonies of survivors of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Production of the film spanned over five years and dozens of interviews, and is based on a unique geographic, demographic and experiential sampling of the local population. This documentary feature film underscores the importance of Earth science and science communication in building sustainable communities. The film is a lesson in survival and sustainability, and it provides a simple but powerful testimony of what to do and what not to do before and during a tsunami. The film also highlights the direct relationship that exists between disaster survival rates and the knowledge of basic Earth science and preparedness facts. We hope that the human stories presented in the film will serve as a strong motivator for general audiences to learn about natural hazards, preparedness, and Earth science. These engaging narratives can touch the minds and hearts of general audiences much faster than technical lectures in a classroom. Some of the testimonies are happy and others are sad, but they all present the wide range of beliefs that influenced the outcomes of the natural disaster. The interviews with survivors are complemented with unique archival footage of the tsunami and unique footage of daily life in Aceh. Hand-drawn illustrations are used to recreate what survivors did immediately after the earthquake, and during the extreme moments when they faced the tsunami waves. Animated visuals, maps and diagrams enhance the understanding of earthquake and tsunami dynamics. The film is a production of the Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) in collaboration with the International Center for Aceh and Indian Ocean Studies (ICAIOS) in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The film is scheduled for release in late 2015. This is a unique

This thesis attempts to illuminate the challenges facing Norwegian oil spill preparedness, and how these can be approached in the best possible way, with the intent to make oil spill preparedness more effectively. Organizational aspects are in focus. The research has an inductive approach. Interviews have been carried out with several companies producing services or products related to oil spill preparedness, including the three major players in the Norwegian oil spill prepared...

This study examined predictors of pre-service science teachers' behavioral intention toward e-resources use for teaching in Nigeria. The study used cross-sectional survey research method and a questionnaire with a set of items that measure technology preparedness, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and behavioral intention to gather the…

A new study about crucial risk management issues relating to Arctic operations is released by DNV (Det Norske Veritas) and the Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI). This concludes that, in order to safely develop Arctic resources, there is a need for improved technology, oil spill preparedness and close cooperation between the authorities, industry and society.

The off - campus access to electronicresources in the library benefits readers a lot .Meanwhile ,some abnormal access behavior arises .The paper analyzed the electronicresources access log with EZproxyog proxy server ,designed and devel-oped the EZproxy log analysis system so as to pretreat ,upload ,count and analyze the access log to electronicresources .To dis-cover the abnormal access behavior of readers on the basis of the characteristics of their access and to classify the abnormal behav -ior , the paper could avoid that IP is temporarily blocked by the supporters of database of electronicresources in the library so that can maintain the readers' rights and improve the efficiency of resource access .%校外访问图书馆电子资源在方便读者的同时也出现一些异常访问行为，利用 EZproxy 代理服务器日志信息分析异常访问行为特征，设计并开发 EZproxy 日志分析系统，完成对电子资源访问日志的预处理、上传、统计和分析，从访问特征发掘读者的异常访问行为，对异常行为情况分类处理，基本避免了异常访问行为导致图书馆电子资源被数据库商临时封掉 IP 的现象出现，维护图书馆读者的合法权利，提高资源访问效率。

The cultural competence training of healthcare professionals is a key element in ensuring the quality of both the access and delivery of healthcare to increasingly ethnically diverse populations. The aim of this study is to investigate Danish medical teachers' opinions about cultural competence, their willingness to receive training and preparedness to teach cultural competence topics. The survey was sent to medical teachers, clinical teachers and external lecturers who teach in the medical programme at the University of Copenhagen. A total of 1400 medical teachers received the survey, and 199 responded. The response rate is 14%. Data were analysed through descriptive calculations, and answers to open-ended questions were coded using content analysis. Results showed that 82.4% of the informants agreed or strongly agreed that the medical education programme should include training on cultural issues, and 60.3% agreed or strongly agreed that students should be assessed on their cultural competence skills. Regarding preparedness to teach a diverse classroom, 88.4% felt somewhat or very prepared to engage and motivate all students. About 70% were interested in receiving training on cultural competence. Generally, there is interest in and acknowledgement of the importance of cultural competence in Danish medical education among teachers at the University of Copenhagen. This creates an opportunity to implement cultural competence in the medical curriculum, training of teachers and strengthening the diversity sensitivity of the organisation. However, support for this programme by management and the allocation of an appropriate level of resources is a prerequisite to the success of the programme.

.... Objective This study was conducted to assess birth preparedness and complication readiness and its associated factors among pregnant woman in Duguna Fango District in Wolayta Zone, South Ethiopia...

The management of nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) terrorism events is critical to reducing morbidity and mortality in the next decade; however, initial patient care considerations and protective actions for staff are unfamiliar to most front-line clinicians. High explosive events (bomb and blast) remain the most common type of terrorism and are easy to detect. Conversely, some types of terrorist attacks are more likely to be unsuspected or covert. This paper explains the current threat of terrorism and describes clues for detection that an event has occurred. Specific criteria that should lead to a high suspicion for terrorism are illustrated. The manuscript outlines initial actions and clinical priorities for management and treatment of patients exposed to nuclear/radiological, biological, chemical and combined agents (for example an explosion involving a chemical agent). Examples of terrorist events include: a nuclear explosion, an aerosolised release of anthrax (biological), dissemination of sarin in a subway (chemical), and the detonation of a radiologic dispersion device or "dirty bomb" (combined explosive and radiological). Basic principles of decontamination include potential risks to healthcare providers from secondary exposure and contamination. Unique issues may hinder clinical actions. These include coordination with law enforcement for a crime scene, public health entities for surveillance and monitoring, hazardous materials teams for decontamination, and the media for risk communications. Finally, the importance of personal preparedness is discussed.

To assess knowledge and comfort related to disaster preparedness and response gained and retained from a disaster medicine workshop given to Certified Specialists in Poison Information (CSPI). A pilot study with a pre-post intervention design. A Midwest Regional Poison Center. All CSPIs employed at the participating Poison Center (N = 27) were recruited. Participation ranged from 44 percent (n = 12) for the 4-month postworkshop knowledge quiz to 78 percent (n = 21) for the preworkshop survey. A disaster medicine workshop was given to the CSPIs. Quizzes and surveys were done preworkshop and then repeated at 1 week, 4 months, and 14 months postworkshop. CSPI knowledge and comfort pertaining to disaster-related calls. CSPIs' comfort levels with calls regarding major chemical or nuclear/radiation disasters significantly increased and stayed elevated during all follow-up periods [Kruskal-Wallis chi2 (3) = 13.1, p = 0.01]. The average preworkshop quiz score was 58.2 percent. A statistically significant increase in mean quiz score was demonstrated amongst preworkshop and postworkshop scores at all tested time intervals (F = 18.8, p educational competencies for CSPIs and disaster response would help to standardize this much needed education.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a disaster preparedness training program in a Paediatric Emergency Department (PED). A quasi-experimental study was conducted using an anonymous questionnaire that was distributed to health care providers of a PED in a tertiary paediatric hospital. The questions concerned the disaster plan (DP), including theoretical and practical aspects. Questionnaires were distributed and completed in January 2014 (period 1) and November 2014 (period 2). The disaster training program includes theoretical and practical sessions. A total of 110 questionnaires were collected in period 1, and 80 in period 2. Almost three-quarters (71.3%) of PED staff attended the theoretical sessions, and 43.8% attended the practical sessions. The application of this training program significantly improved knowledge about the DP, but no improvement was observed in the practical questions. PED staff felt more prepared to face a disaster after the training program (15.5% vs. 41.8%, P

Full Text Available In light of strong encouragement for disaster managers to use climate services for flood preparation, we question whether seasonal rainfall forecasts should indeed be used as indicators of the likelihood of flooding. Here, we investigate the primary indicators of flooding at the seasonal timescale across sub-Saharan Africa. Given the sparsity of hydrological observations, we input bias-corrected reanalysis rainfall into the Global Flood Awareness System to identify seasonal indicators of floodiness. Results demonstrate that in some regions of western, central, and eastern Africa with typically wet climates, even a perfect tercile forecast of seasonal total rainfall would provide little to no indication of the seasonal likelihood of flooding. The number of extreme events within a season shows the highest correlations with floodiness consistently across regions. Otherwise, results vary across climate regimes: floodiness in arid regions in southern and eastern Africa shows the strongest correlations with seasonal average soil moisture and seasonal total rainfall. Floodiness in wetter climates of western and central Africa and Madagascar shows the strongest relationship with measures of the intensity of seasonal rainfall. Measures of rainfall patterns, such as the length of dry spells, are least related to seasonal floodiness across the continent. Ultimately, identifying the drivers of seasonal flooding can be used to improve forecast information for flood preparedness and to avoid misleading decision-makers.

Full Text Available Abstract Background Planning public health responses against pandemic influenza relies on predictive models by which the impact of different intervention strategies can be evaluated. Research has to date rather focused on producing predictions for certain localities or under specific conditions, than on designing a publicly available planning tool which can be applied by public health administrations. Here, we provide such a tool which is reproducible by an explicitly formulated structure and designed to operate with an optimal combination of the competing requirements of precision, realism and generality. Results InfluSim is a deterministic compartment model based on a system of over 1,000 differential equations which extend the classic SEIR model by clinical and demographic parameters relevant for pandemic preparedness planning. It allows for producing time courses and cumulative numbers of influenza cases, outpatient visits, applied antiviral treatment doses, hospitalizations, deaths and work days lost due to sickness, all of which may be associated with economic aspects. The software is programmed in Java, operates platform independent and can be executed on regular desktop computers. Conclusion InfluSim is an online available software http://www.influsim.info which efficiently assists public health planners in designing optimal interventions against pandemic influenza. It can reproduce the infection dynamics of pandemic influenza like complex computer simulations while offering at the same time reproducibility, higher computational performance and better operability.

The rapid spread of Zika virus across the World Health Organization's Region of the Americas has had a direct effect on the U.S. health care delivery system. Hospitals in New York City (NYC) have been implementing prevention and response efforts consistent with CDC guidance. As of September 21, 2016, a total of 715 cases of laboratory-confirmed Zika virus disease had been diagnosed in New York state among travelers who returned from affected areas, their sexual contacts, or infants infected in utero. This represents the highest number of reported cases in any state to date, and underscores the importance of health care systems preparing to care for patients with possible Zika virus disease (1). Building upon a framework that was established in 2014 to screen patients for possible exposure to Ebola virus disease (Ebola), NYC Health + Hospitals,* the largest municipal health care delivery system in the United States, implemented a Zika Preparedness and Response Action Plan(†) (Zika Action Plan) to address the threat from Zika and ensure appropriate patient care. The plan developed by NYC Health + Hospitals includes universal travel screening, signage depicting areas with active Zika virus transmission, clinical and epidemiologic evaluation for possible Zika virus exposure, diagnostic testing for Zika virus infection and linking of infected patients to appropriate specialists, and education on Zika virus disease and preventive measures (e.g., avoiding travel to areas with active Zika virus transmission).

Full Text Available In 2006, the ISDR (International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (2007 initiated a campaign called Disaster Risk Reduction Begins at School to encourage the integration of disaster risk education into school curricula in countries vulnerable to disasters. A study was initiated to determine how education, in particular curriculum development and teaching, contributes to South African learners’ hazard awareness and disaster preparedness. Mixed method research (consisting of questionnaires, interviews and document reviews was done to collect data. 150 educators from Gauteng, the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, North West and the Eastern Cape completed questionnaires. Five curriculum coordinators, three disaster specialists and two disaster lecturers were interviewed to record their perspectives. The first finding of the study was that the majority of educators, disaster specialists and curriculum coordinators identified floods, fire, droughts, epidemics, road accidents and storms as the most prevalent disasters in the country. The second finding from the literature and empirical data collection revealed that South African communities, particularly people residing in informal settlements and other poor areas, are more vulnerable to disasters than their counterparts in more affluent areas. The third finding of the study was that teaching learners about hazards and disasters is vital and must be expanded.

Full Text Available Recent inquiry has identified the establishment of positive self-efficacy beliefs as an important component in the overall process of successfully preparing new teachers for the classroom. Similarly, in-service teachers who reported high levels of efficacy for teaching confirmed feeling confident in their ability to design and implement enriching instructional experiences. This article presents findings from a quantitative, descriptive study regarding teacher-efficacy related to technology integration. Utilizing a six-point Likert-type survey with an open-ended question, the research instrument was administered to a sample of approximately 350 pre-service and in-service teachers within the Province of Nova Scotia, with a response rate of 48%. Analysis of quantitative research findings illustrated no statistically significant difference between the pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions regarding their preparedness to integrate technology into their teaching. However, responses to the open-ended questions revealed examples from practice where teachers from both segments of the sample experienced feelings of low self- efficacy related to technology integration.

In light of strong encouragement for disaster managers to use climate services for flood preparation, we question whether seasonal rainfall forecasts should indeed be used as indicators of the likelihood of flooding. Here, we investigate the primary indicators of flooding at the seasonal timescale across sub-Saharan Africa. Given the sparsity of hydrological observations, we input bias-corrected reanalysis rainfall into the Global Flood Awareness System to identify seasonal indicators of floodiness. Results demonstrate that in some regions of western, central, and eastern Africa with typically wet climates, even a perfect tercile forecast of seasonal total rainfall would provide little to no indication of the seasonal likelihood of flooding. The number of extreme events within a season shows the highest correlations with floodiness consistently across regions. Otherwise, results vary across climate regimes: floodiness in arid regions in southern and eastern Africa shows the strongest correlations with seasonal average soil moisture and seasonal total rainfall. Floodiness in wetter climates of western and central Africa and Madagascar shows the strongest relationship with measures of the intensity of seasonal rainfall. Measures of rainfall patterns, such as the length of dry spells, are least related to seasonal floodiness across the continent. Ultimately, identifying the drivers of seasonal flooding can be used to improve forecast information for flood preparedness and to avoid misleading decision-makers.

The goal of this article is to present lessons learned from the devastating effects of two specific natural disasters in Texas: Tropical Storm Allison, which flooded Houston in June 2001, and Hurricane Ike, which caused severe damage in Galveston in September 2008. When a disaster is predictable, good predisaster planning can help to save animals lives. However, as disasters are usually not predictable and tend not to follow a script, that plan needs to be easily adaptable and flexible. It should address all aspects of the program and include an evacuation strategy for the animals, data backup, and identification of emergency equipment such as generators and communication systems. Media communication must also be considered as the general public may become emotional about animal-related issues; adverse attention and public scrutiny can be expected if animals die. The psychological impact of the disaster on the lives of those it directly affects may require attention and accommodation in the postdisaster recovery period. Following an overview of each disaster we describe plans for recovery, impacts on research, business continuity programs, and planning and preparation strategies developed against future natural disasters. Long-term planning includes building design as an important factor in protecting both the animals and the research equipment. Lessons learned include successful responses, evaluation for improvements, and preparedness plans and procedures to guard against future disaster-related destruction or loss of facilities, research programs, and animal lives.

Earth Girl: The Natural Disaster Fighter is a digital game about a girl who can save her family and friends from natural hazards. The scenario and game play are inspired by the challenges faced by communities living in the Asian regions prone to earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding and volcano hazards. This paper focuses on the interdisciplinary issues and development, the user testing and refinement process and a brief demonstration of the final product. The Earth Girl game is meant to help players, particularly pre-teens worldwide, to gain a better understanding of natural hazards through imaginative and fun game play. The game offers three levels of side-scrolling action, plus factual information in the form of quizzes to enhance the players' knowledge. The correct answers provide players with extra health and/or super-powers. The game was developed in English, Indonesian, Japanese and Chinese. It runs on any Flash-enabled browser and has been successfully user-tested in Southeast Asia with positive results and feedback.Earth Girl, a game of preparedness and survival

Full Text Available Background: Basic education through counseling mitigation program is on Statute No 24 Year 2007, Health Minister Decree No 145 year 2007, Decree of Mining an Energy Minister. Preparedness education is efforts to increase knowledge and awareness to face of the volcano disaster, in order to survive and stay healthy. The purpose of this study was to evaluated the implementation of educational preparedness in disaster-prone communities on the slopes of Mount Bromo and Mount Merapi Methods: Croessectional methode, Big sample is 100 people from Bromo area in the Ngadirejo village to 25 people, in the Wonokerso village 25 people, whereas in the Merapi area in the Mangunharjo village 25 people andthe Jaranan village of 25 people. Samples are purvosif determined that only the community on the slopes of Bromo and Merapi eruption affected. Secondary data was obtained from the institution carrying out preparedness education. Results: Preparedness Education through counseling had a basic level of central and local regulation is the reference work BPPD officer. Agencies involved counseling is District Health Offi ce and Health Centre, PMI, LSM,BPBD. Impact preparedness counseling is when the eruption of the volcano was about to evacuate people, including most of the people Bromo, in order to survive, in addition to the public while maintaining the health of the PHBs, to stay healthy. Conclusion: Preparedness education is based on the regulation of the central and local level to help people to volcanic eruptions. The focus of its activities is the procedure for evacuation, rescue and PHBS are implemented on an ongoing basis. Recommendation: Important implement sustainable counseling, so that people have a lasting awareness preparedness for facing volcanic eruptions.

Full Text Available Abstract Background Governments may be overwhelmed by a large-scale public health emergency, such as a massive bioterrorist attack or natural disaster, requiring collaboration with businesses and other community partners to respond effectively. In Georgia, public health officials and members of the Business Executives for National Security have successfully collaborated to develop and test procedures for dispensing medications from the Strategic National Stockpile. Lessons learned from this collaboration should be useful to other public health and business leaders interested in developing similar partnerships. Methods The authors conducted a case study based on interviews with 26 government, business, and academic participants in this collaboration. Results The partnership is based on shared objectives to protect public health and assure community cohesion in the wake of a large-scale disaster, on the recognition that acting alone neither public health agencies nor businesses are likely to manage such a response successfully, and on the realization that business and community continuity are intertwined. The partnership has required participants to acknowledge and address multiple challenges, including differences in business and government cultures and operational constraints, such as concerns about the confidentiality of shared information, liability, and the limits of volunteerism. The partnership has been facilitated by a business model based on defining shared objectives, identifying mutual needs and vulnerabilities, developing carefully-defined projects, and evaluating proposed project methods through exercise testing. Through collaborative engagement in progressively more complex projects, increasing trust and understanding have enabled the partners to make significant progress in addressing these challenges. Conclusion As a result of this partnership, essential relationships have been established, substantial private resources and

Man-made (9/11) and natural (Hurricane Katrina) disasters have enlightened the medical community regarding the importance of disaster preparedness. In response to Joint Commission requirements, medical centers should have established protocols in place to respond to such events. We examined a full-scale regional exercise (FSRE) to identify gaps in logistics and operations during a simulated mass casualty incident. A multiagency, multijurisdictional, multidisciplinary exercise (FSRE) included 16 area hospitals and one American College of Surgeons-verified Level I trauma center (TC). The scenario simulated a train derailment and chemical spill 20 miles from the TC using 281 moulaged volunteers. Third-party contracted evaluators assessed each hospital in five areas: communications, command structure, decontamination, staffing, and patient tracking. Further analysis examined logistic and operational deficiencies. None of the 16 hospitals were compliant in all five areas. Mean hospital compliance was 1.9 (± 0.9 SD) areas. One hospital, unable to participate because of an air conditioner outage, was deemed 0% compliant. The most common deficiency was communications (15 of 16 hospitals [94%]; State Medical Asset Resource Tracking Tool system deficiencies, lack of working knowledge of Voice Interoperability Plan for Emergency Responders radio system) followed by deficient decontamination in 12 (75%). Other deficiencies included inadequate staffing based on predetermined protocols in 10 hospitals (63%), suboptimal command structure in 9 (56%), and patient tracking deficiencies in 5 (31%). An additional 11 operational and 5 logistic failures were identified. The TC showed an appropriate command structure but was deficient in four of five categories, with understaffing and a decontamination leak into the emergency department, which required diversion of 70 patients. Communication remains a significant gap in the mass casualty scenario 10 years after 9/11. Our findings

The paper studies the thinking modes of medical users utilizing electronicresources in college and university libraries. Combining with the questionnaires,in - depth analysis of utilization desire,utilization decision,impact factors of utilization behaviors are compiled,in order to provide references for college and university libraries formulating electronicresources marketing strategies.%研究高校图书馆医药学用户在使用电子资源过程中的思维模式,结合问卷调查结果深入分析思维模式中使用意愿、使用决策、使用行为的影响因素,为高校图书馆制定电子资源营销策略提供依据。

Whilst policy makers have tended to adopt an 'information-deficit model' to bolster levels of flood-risk preparedness primarily though communication strategies promoting awareness, the assumed causal relation between awareness and preparedness is empirically weak. As such, there is a growing interest amongst scholars and policy makers alike to better understand why at-risk individuals are underprepared. In this vein, empirical studies, typically employing quantitative methods, have tended to focus on exploring the extent to which flood-risk preparedness levels vary depending not only on socio-demographic variables, but also (and increasingly so) the perceptual factors that influence flood risk preparedness. This study builds upon and extends this body of research by offering a more solution-focused approach that seeks to identify how pathways to flood-risk preparedness can be opened up. Specifically, through application of a qualitative methodology, we seek to explore how the factors that negatively influence flood-risk preparedness can be addressed to foster a shift towards greater levels of mitigation behaviour. In doing so, we focus our analysis on an urban community in Ireland that is identified as 'at risk' of flash flooding and is currently undergoing significant flood relief works. In this regard, the case study offers an interesting laboratory to explore how attitudes towards flood-risk preparedness at the individual level are being influenced within the context of a flood relief scheme that is only partially constructed. In order to redress the dearth of theoretically informed qualitative studies in this field, we draw on Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) to help guide our analysis and make sense of our results. Our findings demonstrate that flood-risk preparedness can be undermined by low levels of efficacy amongst individuals in terms of the preparedness measures available to them and their own personal capacity to implement them. We also elucidate that

Full Text Available The method of estimation of level of technical preparedness is developed for young baseballs. The scale of estimation of level of technical preparedness of sportsmen is formed on the method of sigmantion rejections. In an experiment took part 100 boys in age 12-14 years. The test of the program «Aquafina MLB Pitch was utillized, Hit & Run». The maximally attained indexes are certain on separate baseball skills. The level of development of technical preparedness is exposed after an experiment on the program: a test of «pitch» is 450 marks, a test of «hit» is 402 marks, a test of «run» is a 361 mark, indexes of general marks are 1043 marks. The comparative analysis of level of technical preparedness of baseballs of control and experimental groups is conducted. Authenticity of distinctions is proved between control and experimental groups on the followings criteria of technical preparedness: throw, blow at run.

Full Text Available The increasing frequency of natural disasters occurrence and severity of climate change impacts in recent years makes disaster preparedness a vital decision among households especially in developing countries like the Philippines. The study was conducted to characterize households' respondents through the use of selected socio-demographic variables. It also aimed to determine their adoption of pre-determined disaster preparedness plans and if an empirical relationship could be established between the adoption of a plan and the selected household socio-demographic variables. Using a stimulus-response framework, a natural disaster preparedness survey protocol with emphasis on households' preparedness plans was developed and implemented from May-July 2015 in one of the typhoon and flood-prone municipalities in the Philippines. With 577 respondents, the average households in the study site consist of 5 members, are below estimated poverty threshold, and residing in the area for more than 30 years. There is variability on the relationships between the socio-demographic characteristic of the respondents and their decision to adopt disaster preparedness plans. These findings call for the expansion of the current climate change adaptation and disaster risk management programs and initiatives of the municipality to include enhancement of households' capacity to prepare and deal with impacts of natural disasters.

Behavioral economics is based on the idea that individuals' decisions are affected by systematic and predictable cognitive biases and that these same biases can be leveraged to change behavior and improve decision-making. Insights from behavioral economics have been used to encourage a range of desired behaviors but have rarely been used in disaster preparedness and response, though traditional efforts by public health practitioners have failed to increase adoption of key preparedness behaviors. In this work, we aim to show how some of the key concepts in the behavioral economics literature are applicable to behaviors related to disaster preparedness and response, and we present ideas for behavioral economics-based interventions that we vetted with public health officials. Two of the best-received interventions were applications of social norms approaches, which leverage social influence bias, and commitment devices, which leverage present bias and loss aversion. Although the current evidence base for the applications of concepts from behavioral economics in disaster preparedness and response is weak, behavioral economics has achieved positive results in similar decision-making contexts. The low cost and potentially high impact of behavioral economics-based interventions warrant further investigation and testing. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;page 1 of 7).

Disasters are a growing global phenomenon. New Zealand has suffered several major disasters in recent times. The state of healthcare disaster preparedness in New Zealand prior to the Canterbury earthquakes is not well documented. To investigate the challenges of the New Zealand healthcare disaster preparedness prior to the Canterbury earthquakes. Semi-structured interviews with emergency planners in all the District Health Boards (DHBs) in New Zealand in the period between January and March 2010. The interview protocol revolved around the domains of emergency planning adopted by the World Health Organization. Seventeen interviews were conducted. The main themes included disinterest of clinical personnel in emergency planning, the need for communication backup, the integration of private services in disaster preparedness, the value of volunteers, the requirement for regular disaster training, and the need to enhance surge capability of the New Zealand healthcare system to respond to disasters. Prior to the Canterbury earthquakes, healthcare disaster preparedness faced multiple challenges. Despite these challenges, New Zealand's healthcare response was adequate. Future preparedness has to consider the lessons learnt from the 2011 earthquakes to improve healthcare disaster planning in New Zealand.

In recent years, electronicresources play an increasingly important role in research, teaching and other works. Through the statistical analysis of the domestic research on the usage standard management of electronicresources from 2000 to 2010, we find that the issue of the usage standard management of electronicresources is increasingly concerned by the public and researchers. But there are still some problems, such as lack of systematic discussion and empirical research, scattered research topics, most research results on guidance proposals, and so on. Our researches about usage standard management of electronicresources should strengthen researches on the user, related technologies, licensing alliance, strengthen the communication between libraries and database providers, and strengthen the analysis and absorption of foreign experience.%目前，电子资源在科研、教学等工作中扮演着越来越重要的角色。通过对2000-2010年我国电子资源使用规范管理研究文献的统计分析发现，虽然公众及科研人员对电子资源使用的规范的关注程度越来越高，但是仍存在缺乏系统性的论述和实证性的研究、研究主题过于分散、研究成果多为指导性建议等问题。我国电子资源使用规范管理研究应加强对用户、相关技术、许可联盟的研究，加强对图书馆与数据库商交流的研究，加强对国外经验的分析与吸收。

The prineipal-agent relationship is throughout the whole process of the electronicresources purchase for university libraries. Based on the asymmetric informatiun theory the issues of information asymmetries in the purchase process of electronicresources for university libraries are analyzed. The major prineipal-agent relationships between the university libraries, the group organizers and the database providers ate studied. The operational characteristics and existing problems in the purchase process of electronicresources for university libraries are also discussed. Taking this opportunity to attention the principal-agent relationships existed in the electronicresources purchase of university libraries, the authors hope to solve some problems caused by the market information asymmetry.%委托-代理关系贯穿了高校图书馆电子资源的购买全过程，，基于信息不对称理论，分析高校图书馆电子资源购买中的信息不对称现象，并以高校图书馆、集团组织者、数据库提供者为主体，研究高校图书馆电子资源采购过程中存在的几种主要委托-代理关系、业务特点和存在的问题、通过对委托-代理关系的研究和分析，合理把握电子资源采购的规律，可以部分解决高校电子资源购买中由市场信息不平衡所带来的问题。

Through analyzing the integrated service system of library resources, this paper sums up three methods for the integration of printed resources and digital resources including the digital resources catalog, digital resources navigate and open link system, and suggests that the libraries should give priority to books and periodicals integrated retrieval in the integrated service, and carry out the system construction within their capabilities by adopting the methods of making second development, introducing new system, and conducting independent development, etc.%通过对图书馆馆藏一体化服务系统的分析，归纳总结出印本资源与电子资源整合的3种主要模式———电子资源编目、电子资源导航与开放链接，并建议图书馆在进行一体化服务时，优先考虑图书和期刊的整合检索，在系统建设上量力而行，采取二次开发、引进新系统、自主开发等方式。

The origin and methods of library electronicresources evaluation were summarized;the statistical standards of library users' us-age data were reviewed. Then four library electronicresources evaluation systems based on library users' usage data which are ScholarlyS-tats,Journal Use Reports,360 Counter and Ustat were compared and contrasted. The related work which librarians need to do and the con-sidering factors about the selection of electronicresources evaluation system was also analyzed.%总结了图书馆馆藏电子资源评价的缘起与方法,梳理了图书馆用户使用数据的统计规范。以此为基础对比了四个基于使用数据的馆藏电子资源评价系统---ScholarlyStats,Journal Use Reports,360 Counter,UStat,分析了图书馆选择电子资源评价系统的考虑因素和需要预先做好的相关工作。

This study investigated the quality and usefulness of the information in the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) exercise database. It incorporates the results of two separate analytical efforts. The first effort investigated the process of assigning standardized codes to issues identified in CSEPP exercise reports. A small group of issues was coded independently by each of several individuals, and the results of the individual codings were compared. Considerable differences were found among the individuals` codings. The second effort consisted of a statistical multivariate analysis, to investigate whether exercise issues are evenly distributed among exercise tabs, sites, and objectives. It was found that certain tabs, sites, and objectives were disproportionately associated with problem areas in exercises. In some cases, these problem areas have persisted over time, but in other cases they have undergone significant shifts over the time span of the investigation. The study concludes that the database can be a useful resource for analyzing problem areas and setting priorities for CSEPP program resources. However, some further analyses should be performed in order to more fully explore the data and increase confidence in the results.

Research by the science community into volcanic histories and physical processes at Cascade volcanoes in the states of Washington, Oregon, and California has been ongoing for over a century. Eruptions in the 20th century at Lassen Peak and Mount St. Helen demonstrated the active nature of Cascade volcanoes; the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens was a defining moment in modern volcanology. The first modern volcano hazards assessments were produced by the USGS for some Cascade volcanoes in the 1960s. A rich scientific literature exists, much of which addresses hazards at these active volcanoes. That said community awareness, planning, and preparation for eruptions generally do not occur as a result of a hazard analyses published in scientific papers, but by direct communication with scientists. Relative to other natural hazards, volcanic eruptions (or large earthquakes, or tsunami) are outside common experience, and the public and many public officials are often surprised to learn of the impacts volcanic eruptions could have on their communities. In the 1980s, the USGS recognized that effective hazard communication and preparedness is a multi-faceted, long-term undertaking and began working with federal, state, and local stakeholders to build awareness and foster community action about volcano hazards. Activities included forming volcano-specific workgroups to develop coordination plans for volcano emergencies; a concerted public outreach campaign; curriculum development and teacher training; technical training for emergency managers and first responders; and development of hazard information that is accessible to non-specialists. Outcomes include broader ownership of volcano hazards as evidenced by bi-national exchanges of emergency managers, community planners, and first responders; development by stakeholders of websites focused on volcano hazards mitigation; and execution of table-top and functional exercises, including evacuation drills by local communities.

Scientists at the College of Charleston are working with the state of South Carolina's Emergency Management Division to increase awareness and understanding of earthquake hazards throughout South Carolina. As part of this mission, the SCEEP (South Carolina Earthquake Education and Preparedness) program was formed at the College of Charleston to promote earthquake research, outreach, and education in the state of South Carolina. Working with local, regional, state and federal offices, SCEEP has developed education programs for everyone from professional hazard management teams to formal and informal educators. SCEEP also works with the media to ensure accurate reporting of earthquake and other hazard information and to increase the public's understanding of earthquake science and earthquake seismology. As part of this program, we have developed a series of activities that can be checked out by educators for use in their classrooms and in informal education venues. These activities are designed to provide educators with the information and tools they lack to adequately, informatively, and enjoyably teach about earthquake and earth science. The toolkits contain seven activities meeting a variety of National Education Standards, not only in Science, but also in Geography, Math, Social Studies, Arts Education, History and Language Arts - providing a truly multidisciplinary toolkit for educators. The activities provide information on earthquake myths, seismic waves, elastic rebound, vectors, liquefaction, location of an epicenter, and then finally South Carolina earthquakes. The activities are engaging and inquiry based, implementing proven effective strategies for peaking learners' interest in scientific phenomena. All materials are provided within the toolkit and so it is truly check and go. While the SCEEP team has provided instructions and grade level suggestions for implementing the activity in an educational setting, the educator has full reign on what to showcase

The Crisis Committee for Nuclear and Radiological Preparedness initiated a project to assess the current national preparedness regarding nuclear and radiological emergencies. The purpose of the project was to make recommendations on how to further develop the Norwegian nuclear and radiological preparedness. The Crisis Committee outlines in this report the most important areas in the further development of Norway's nuclear and radiological emergency preparedness. (Author)

In this study, we investigate the relationship between academic-preparedness diversity within small learning groups and individual academic performance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) university courses. We further examine whether academic-preparedness diversity impacts academically more- and less-prepared students…

Background Increased preparedness for birth and complications is an essential part of antenatal care and has the potential to increase birth with a skilled attendant. We conducted a systematic review of studies to assess the effect of birth preparedness and complication readiness interventions on

This article proposes a multi-level model for crisis preparedness and intervention in the Greek educational system. It presents: a) a brief overview of leading models of school crisis preparedness and intervention as well as cultural considerations for contextually relevant crisis response; b) a description of existing crisis intervention…

Full Text Available In this paper we investigate how well residents of the Andaman coast in Phang Nga province, Thailand, are prepared for earthquakes and tsunami. It is hypothesized that formal education can promote disaster preparedness because education enhances individual cognitive and learning skills, as well as access to information. A survey was conducted of 557 households in the areas that received tsunami warnings following the Indian Ocean earthquakes on 11 April 2012. Interviews were carried out during the period of numerous aftershocks, which put residents in the region on high alert. The respondents were asked what emergency preparedness measures they had taken following the 11 April earthquakes. Using the partial proportional odds model, the paper investigates determinants of personal disaster preparedness measured as the number of preparedness actions taken. Controlling for village effects, we find that formal education, measured at the individual, household, and community levels, has a positive relationship with taking preparedness measures. For the survey group without past disaster experience, the education level of household members is positively related to disaster preparedness. The findings also show that disaster-related training is most effective for individuals with high educational attainment. Furthermore, living in a community with a higher proportion of women who have at least a secondary education increases the likelihood of disaster preparedness. In conclusion, we found that formal education can increase disaster preparedness and reduce vulnerability to natural hazards.

Background Increased preparedness for birth and complications is an essential part of antenatal care and has the potential to increase birth with a skilled attendant. We conducted a systematic review of studies to assess the effect of birth preparedness and complication readiness interventions on in

The focus of most disaster management programmes is to deploy resources-physical and human-from outside the disaster zone. This activity can produce a delay in disaster mitigation and recovery efforts, and a consequent loss of human lives and economic resources. It may be possible to expedite recovery and prevent loss of life by mapping out disaster proneness and the availability of resources in advance. This study proposes the development of two indices to do so. The Indian census data of 2001 is used to develop a methodology for creating one index on disaster proneness and one on resourcefulness for administrative units (tehsils). Findings reveal that tehsil residents face an elevated risk of disaster and that they are also grossly under-prepared for such events. The proposed indices can be used to map regional service provision facilities and to assist authorities in evaluating immediate, intermediate, and long-term disaster recovery needs and resource requirements.

Full Text Available The results of determination of structure of physical development are resulted, psycho-physiological possibilities and physical preparedness of children of age-dependent groups, 1-2, 3-4 and 4-5 years. It is set that development of children from 1 to 5 years takes place getertimely. There is a considerable role of indexes in the initial probed age-dependent period (1-2 years there is a considerable role of indexes of physical development in development of physical qualities and psycho-physiological possibilities. In age 3-4 the role of level of development of physical qualities and psycho-physiological possibilities increases in the structure of complex preparedness, and in an age-dependent period 4-5 years again there is an increase of role of physical development with the maintain of role of physical preparedness and psycho-physiological possibilities.

Studies suggest that a large proportion of adults do not manage to save enough for retirement. Correlates of retirement saving behaviors have yet to be fully understood. The goal of this study was to examine perceived financial preparedness for retirement and its correlates. We studied the effect of perceived financial knowledge and involvement, social and institutional support, and attitudes toward retirement in a national sample of 227 non-retired Israeli adults (mean age = 44; 53% female; 81% Jewish). Results indicated that only about 20% perceived themselves as financially prepared for retirement. The main correlates of financial preparedness were financial knowledge and involvement in financial activities. The results show that a large proportion of the Israeli population feel underprepared for retirement. Those who perceive themselves as having high levels of financial knowledge are less predisposed to feel underprepared. Future research should examine the relationship between perceived financial preparedness and actual savings.

Full Text Available Directions of increase of level of physical preparedness of student young people are considered. 48 students took part in research. The level of physical preparedness of students on the indexes of speeding up, co-ordination, flexibility and force was determined. Professional duties are certain and requirement to physical and psychological physical preparation of specialists to the controller-operator groups of railway transport. Directions of maintenance of health of student young people and improvement of level of its general physical preparedness are offered in the process of employments. It is shown that progress and productivity of future professional activity of students depends on the state of health, psychological firmness, capacities for a concentration and switching of attention, possibilities to work in emotional nervous tension at the deficit of time. Directions optimization of process of physical preparation of students are shown, development of physical qualities.

Full Text Available Purpose: study the character of the changes the level of functional preparedness of sportsmen in the autumn-winter preparatory period training cycle of one year. Material & Methods: in the study to take part ten of athletes specializing in the sprint at the age of 19–23 years, and which have sports rank master of Sport and international master of sports. Methods: analysis scientific and methodical literature, pedagogical supervision, pedagogical experiment, methods for assessing functional training using computer technology, methods of mathematical statistics. Results: is defined integrated quantitative value of the level functional of preparedness and her individual components using new methodical approaches. Conclusions: it is shown that the conduct of the optimization functional of preparedness athletes is an important factor in enhancing the effectiveness of the training process.

Full Text Available Public complacency is one of the problems complicating emergency preparedness and response operations for disaster managers. Effective disaster management is possible to the extent that affected communities cooperate with disaster management. Focusing on the 2006 avian influenza crisis in Turkey, this article analyzes whether the strategies and tools used by government agencies responsible for disaster management were effective in reducing public complacency, and, thus, increasing overall perceived public preparedness and response. Specifically, communication tools used for information collection, organization and dissemination were analyzed to see whether they led increased public situational awareness and immediate public reaction to the crisis. Findings suggest that government's internal preparation and use of communication tools had an impact on the level of the information the public exposed to, while reduced complacency or public reaction to the crisis had an impact on the overall perceived public preparedness.

Full Text Available This paper analyzes the status of electric business logistics in the current Internet era in China, and combines the SWOT analysis with AHP to do the empirical analysis, then puts forward the countermeasure that the electric business logistics resource should be shared based on the resource dependence theory. Through the empirical analysis, it is found that the disadvantages and opportunities of the logistics status are important in the Internet era.The resource sharing strategy based on the resource dependence theory is more scientific. The rational use of Internet technology in electric business logistics industry can achieve “sharing”. It is of great significance for its balanced development, intelligent development and optimization and development.

Full Text Available Ongoing economic losses by and exposure of humans to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI in poultry flocks across Asia and parts of Africa and Europe motivate also outbreak-free countries such as Switzerland to invest in preparedness planning. Country-specific population data on between-farm contacts are required to anticipate probable patterns of pathogen spread. Information is scarce; in particular on how strongly small, non-commercial poultry farms are involved in between-farm contacts. We aimed to identify between-farm contacts of interest for HPAI spread at both commercial and non-commercial farms in a non-outbreak situation: whether or not commercial and non-commercial farms were involved in poultry and person movements and shared resources by company integration. Focus was on poultry movements for the purpose of purchase, sale and poultry show visits, their spatial dimension, their frequencies and the farm types they connected. Of the total 49,437 recorded poultry farms in Switzerland, 95% had less than 500 birds. The farm number resulted in densities of up to 8 poultry farms per km2 and a median number of 47 neighbour farms within a 3 km radius around the farms. Person movements and shared resources were identified in 78% of the surveyed farms (93% among commercials, 67% among non-commercials. Poultry trading movements over extensive spatial ranges were stated at 65% (79% among commercials, 55% among non-commercials. Movement frequencies depended on farm specialization and were higher for commercial than for non-commercial farms except for poultry show visits. Estimates however for the entire population revealed 3.5 times higher chances of a poultry purchase, and 14.6 times higher chances of exhibiting birds at poultry shows occurring in a given time by a farm smaller than 500 birds (non-commercial farm than by a larger (commercial farm. These findings indicate that both commercial and non-commercial farms are involved in

Full Text Available 1 to assess the preparedness to practice and satisfaction in learning environment amongst new graduates from European osteopathic institutions; 2 to compare the results of preparedness to practice and satisfaction in learning environment between and within countries where osteopathy is regulated and where regulation is still to be achieved; 3 to identify possible correlations between learning environment and preparedness to practice.Osteopathic education providers of full-time education located in Europe were enrolled, and their final year students were contacted to complete a survey. Measures used were: Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC and a demographic questionnaire. Scores were compared across institutions using one-way ANOVA and generalised linear model.Nine European osteopathic education institutions participated in the study (4 located in Italy, 2 in the UK, 1 in France, 1 in Belgium and 1 in the Netherlands and 243 (77% of their final-year students completed the survey. The DREEM total score mean was 121.4 (SEM: 1.66 whilst the AAMC was 17.58 (SEM:0.35. A generalised linear model found a significant association between not-regulated countries and total score as well as subscales DREEM scores (p<0.001. Learning environment and preparedness to practice were significantly positively correlated (r=0.76; p<0.01.A perceived higher level of preparedness and satisfaction was found amongst students from osteopathic institutions located in countries without regulation compared to those located in countries where osteopathy is regulated; however, all institutions obtained a 'more positive than negative' result. Moreover, in general, cohorts with fewer than 20 students scored significantly higher compared to larger student cohorts. Finally, an overall positive correlation between students' preparedness and satisfaction were found across all institutions recruited.

The California Tsunami Program has continued to build upon past preparedness efforts, carried out year-round, while leveraging government support at all levels during National Tsunami Preparedness Week, the last week of March. A primary goal is for everyone who lives at or visits the coast to understand basic safety measures when responding to official tsunami alerts or natural warnings. In 2014, more so than ever before, many local, coastal jurisdictions conducted grass-roots activities in their areas. When requested, state and federal programs stepped in to contribute subject matter expertise, lessons learned, and support. And, this year, the new website, www.TsunamiZone.org, was developed. With a goal of establishing a baseline for future years, this website builds on the successes of the Great Shakeout Earthquake Drills (www.ShakeOut.org) by allowing people to locate and register for tsunami preparedness events in their area. Additionally, it provides a central location for basic tsunami preparedness information, and links to find out more. The idea is not only to empower people with the best available, vetted, scientifically-based public safety information, but also to provide ways in which individuals can take physical action to educate themselves and others. Several broad categories of preparedness actions include: official acknowledgement of National Tsunami Preparedness Week, local "tsunami walk" drills, simulated tsunami-based exercises, testing of sirens and notification systems, outreach materials (brochures, videos, maps), workshops, presentations, media events, and websites. Next steps include building on the foundation established in 2014 by leveraging ShakeOut audiences, providing people with more information about how they can participate in 2015, and carrying the effort forward to other states and territories.